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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 01, 2006
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ADVAMED COMMENDS THE ADMINISTRATION AND CMS FOR IMPROVED FINAL INPATIENT HOSPITAL PAYMENT RULE
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – AdvaMed President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl issued the following statement today in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) efforts to make Medicare's hospital inpatient payment system more accurate.
“We support a more accurate inpatient payment system and the Administration and CMS are to be commended for moving us closer to that worthy goal.
“As the final rule was just released late today, we are still reviewing the details and assessing its impact. At first blush, however, it appears that the rule addresses many of the concerns that were raised by patient, physician, and hospital groups. Some of the improvements include:
A three year phase-in for cost-based weights rather than full implementation in FY07;
Incremental changes to a limited number of DRGs rather than broader changes to the entire DRG classification system (“severity adjustments”); and,
Changes in the methodology used to estimate costs.
“We look forward to working with the Administration and CMS over the 3 year phase-in period to further improve the accuracy of inpatient hospital payments.”
AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. Our members produce nearly 90 percent of the health care technology purchased annually in the United States and more than 50 percent purchased annually around the world. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies.
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