The American College of Surgeons (ACS) regulatory staff submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on June 16 regarding the 2017 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule. Learn more about the proposed rule here.. The notice and comment period, which began with the proposed rule’s release April 27, enables individuals and organizations to provide input on the changes the CMS plans to make. The CMS takes these comments into consideration as it crafts the final rule.
The IPPS outlines coverage criteria for Medicare Part A inpatient hospital claims. Because a large portion of surgical care is provided in the inpatient setting, the rule both directly and indirectly affects surgeons. The ACS comment letter included feedback on the CMS’s proposed changes to the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program and the Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction Program, both pay-for-performance programs, and the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, a pay-for-reporting program. For more information about the IPPS proposed rule, see the CMS fact sheet.