ASA Tells CMS to Fix Rural Pass-Through for Anesthesiologists Before Expanding Payments to NAs
Chicago —
(June 21, 2010)
In a recent letter from Dr. Alexander Hannenberg to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the ASA urged the Agency to not finalize its proposal to expand the number of hospitals eligible for rural pass-through payments until anesthesiologists are also eligible to receive such payments. The plan, which was included in the Agency’s proposed rule regarding the inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS), would allow certain hospitals that have been “reclassified” as rural hospitals under existing rules, to also be eligible to use Medicare Part A funds to pay for the services of nurse anesthetists.
ASA objected to this expansion until all anesthesia providers were eligible for similar payments and urged CMS to make the regulatory change or recommend that Congress take action to fix the current disparity.
To read the letter, click here
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with 46,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient.
For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists Web site at www.asahq.org. For patient information, visit LifeLineToModernMedicine.com
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