Medicare Program: Proposed Changes to the Payment Systems for Hospital Outpatient Care and Ambulatory Surgery Centers

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would revise the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with this system. In this proposed rule, we describe the proposed changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare hospital outpatient services paid under the prospective payment system. These changes would be applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2009. In addition, this proposed rule would update the revised Medicare ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with this system. In this proposed rule, we propose the applicable relative payment weights and amounts for services furnished in ASCs, specific HCPCS codes to which these proposed changes would apply, and other pertinent ratesetting information for the CY 2009 ASC payment system. These changes would be applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2009. DATES: To be assured consideration, comments on all sections of the preamble of this proposed rule must be received at one of the addresses provided in the ADDRESSES section no later than 5 p.m. EST on September 2, 2008.