Medicare Payment Update: Recent Changes to the Medicare Program

This teleconference will address recent Medicare legislation and regulations affecting hospitals and physicians. Some of the topics include:

• new Medicare physician payment provisions introduced in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, P.L. 110-275, including financial incentives to encourage physicians to adopt electronic prescribing and to report on approved quality measures;
• new Medicare regulations affecting hospitals announced in the 2009 hospital outpatient prospective payment system final rule, including reporting hospital quality data requirements, clarification of coding guidelines for clinic and emergency department visits and physician supervision rules in hospital outpatient departments;
• new rules affecting physicians set forth in the final 2009 Medicare physician fee schedule;
• changes in the Medicare Part A appeals process including new requirements for protecting appeal rights and highlights of the new Medicare appeal process