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Tags Posts tagged with "cardiac rehabilitation incentive payment model"

cardiac rehabilitation incentive payment model

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule and interim final rule with comment period that cancels the Episode Payment Models (EPM) and Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) Incentive Payment Model and rescinds the regulations governing these models in the December 1, 2017 Federal Register. It also implements certain revisions to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model. Some of these revisions include:

  • Allowing certain hospitals selected for participation in the CJR model a one-time option to choose whether to continue their participation in the model;
  • Technical refinements and clarifications for certain payment, reconciliation, and quality provisions; and
  • Change to increase the pool of eligible clinicians that qualify as affiliated practitioners under the Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM) track.

An interim final rule with comment period is also being issued in conjunction with the final rule in order to address the need for a policy to provide some flexibility in the determination of episode costs for providers located in areas impacted by extreme and uncontrollable circumstances.

Comments will be accepted on the interim final rule with comment period until January 30, 2018. The final and interim final regulations become effective on January 1, 2018.

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On December 20, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the release of a final rule that will implement three new Medicare Parts A and B episode payment models, a Cardiac Rehabilitation Incentive Payment model and modifications to the existing Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model under Section 1115A of the Social Security Act.

The finalization of these new Innovation Center models will continue the shift of Medicare payments from rewarding quantity to rewarding quality by creating incentives for hospitals to deliver better care to patients at a lower cost. The models will reward hospitals that work together with physicians and other providers to avoid complications, prevent hospital readmissions, and speed recovery.

The announcement finalizes significant new policies that:

  • Improve orthopedic care: One new payment model will support clinicians in providing care to patients who receive surgery after a hip fracture, other than hip replacement. In addition, CMS is finalizing updates to the CJR Model, which began in April 2016.
  • Improve cardiac care: Three new payment models will support clinicians in providing care to patients who receive treatment for heart attacks, heart surgery to bypass blocked coronary arteries, or cardiac rehabilitation following a heart attack or heart surgery.
  • Provides an accountable care organization (ACO) opportunity for small practices: The new Medicare ACO Track 1+ Model will have more limited downside risk than Tracks 2 or 3 of the Medicare Shared Savings Program in order to encourage more practices, especially small practices, to advance to performance-based risk.

The final rule makes several modest adjustments to the CJR Model that are largely conforming changes for consistency with the other episode payment models. These include refinements for use of the skilled nursing facility waiver, exclusion of beneficiaries participating in selected ACOs, and revising target pricing methodology to include reconciliation and repayment amounts for performance years 3, 4, and 5. CMS is finalizing revisions to the quality adjustment to incorporate improvement as well as absolute performance, and also finalized changes to align CJR with the episode payment models around financial arrangements and beneficiary engagement incentives, compliance enforcement, appeals processes, and beneficiary notifications.

The final rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2017, and is effective on February 18, 2017.

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