August 2007 Newsletter

CMS Announces Proposals

CY 2008 Physician Fee Schedule and Part B Changes

By: Corporate Compliance Officer

On July 12, 2007, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule addressing certain provisions of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 and making changes to the Medicare Part B payment policy.

The proposed rule discusses:

• Refinements to resource-based practice expense Relative Value Units (RVUs)
• Changes to geographic practice cost indices
• Malpractice RVUs; requests for additions to the list of telehealth services
• Several coding issues including additional codes from the 5-Year Review
• Payment for covered outpatient drugs and biologicals
• The competitive acquisition program
• Clinical lab fee schedule issues
• Payment for renal dialysis services
• Performance standards for independent diagnostic testing facilities
• Expiration of the Physician Scarcity Area (PSA) bonus payment
• Conforming and clarifying changes for comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities
• A process for updating the drug compendia
• Physician self-referral issues
• Beneficiary signature for ambulance transport services
• Durable medical equipment update
• The chiropractic services demonstration
• A Medicare economic index data change
• Technical corrections
• Issues related to therapy services
• Revisions to the ambulance fee schedule
• The ambulance inflation factor for CY 2008
• The proposal to eliminate the exemption for computer-generated facsimile transmissions from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) SCRIPT standard for transmitting prescription and certain prescription-related information for Part D eligible individuals

Visit the following Web site for more information: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov /2007/pdf/07-3274.pdf