Heart of Health Policy | The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final Physician Fee Schedule and the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) in late November. Overall, the rules indicate a 1.7 percent increase in payment for hospital outpatient services. The 24 percent reduction that was mandated by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula has been delayed as a result of Congress’ budget deal that was reached in late December. Changes unrelated to the SGR result in a 1 percent increase for services provided by cardiologists. In addition to the overall payment changes, there are a number of provisions of particular importance for cardiovascular professionals. The ACC has developed comprehensive overviews of both rules, available in the Advocacy section of ACC.org.

Keywords: Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications

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