Hospitals Open Door Forum - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-education/outreach/OpenDoorForums/ODF_Hospitals.html

CMS SEEKS COMMENTS ON PROPOSALS TO UPDATE QIO REGULATIONS

Proposed Rule Open for Comment until September 6

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to offer an opportunity to provide feedback to CMS on a proposed rule that makes revisions to the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program.

What proposals did CMS make?

In the CY 2014 proposed rule for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), displayed at the Federal Register on July 8, CMS proposed changes to the QIO regulations. Note, due to formatting restrictions of this email notification, please see the Downloads section at the bottom of the Hospital Open Door Forum page for a list of some of the proposed changes.

How can you access the proposed rule?

The full CY 2014 OPPS notice of proposed rulemaking is available online. In particular, QIO stakeholders may find detail about the QIO-specific regulations in section XVII of the preamble, titled, “Proposed Revisions to the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Regulations.” Supporting regulation text is featured towards the end of the rule, and is listed as applicable to 42 CFR 475 and 476.

How can you comment?

Commenters may respond online through Thursday, September 6. To send CMS your comments, or to read others’ comments, visit www.regulations.gov and search for “CMS-2013-0154-0001.”

We look forward to your feedback about this critical program in CMS’ clinical quality improvement portfolio.

Hospitals Open Door Forum

Overview:

The Hospital & Hospital Quality Open Door Forum (ODF) addresses the concerns and questions of the Hospital service setting. The very broad scope of topics discussed within this forum, include payment, coverage, conditions of participation, billing and many other current issues that are related to policy implementation. The Inpatient PPS, Outpatient PPS, provisions of the Affordable Care Act and other laws that affect the setting are all covered, and a recurring update from the areas of the Hospital Quality Initiative including the Hospital CAHPS initiative. Timely announcements and clarifications regarding important rulemaking, agency program initiatives and other related areas are also included in the forums.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is pleased to offer an opportunity to provide feedback to CMS on a proposed rule that makes revisions to the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program. The proposed rule is open for comment until September 6, 2013. Please see the Downloads section below for more information.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host two ESRD Quality Incentive Program National Provider Calls. The dates of the calls are Wednesdays, August 7&14, 2013. Registration is open now. Please see the Downloads section below for full announcement and registration instructions. Thank you.
Thursday, August 8, 2013 – Open Payments: Policy Updates on Payments and the Physician Resource Toolkit – Registration Now Open. Please see the Downloads section below for full announcement.
CMS is hosting a series of EHR Incentive Program related national calls. The calls will take place on July 23, 2013, July 24, 2013 & August 15, 2013. Please see the Downloads section below for registration information.
We are extending the deadline for submitting informal public comments on three candidate measures for the PCHQR program to 11:59 PM (EDT) on July 19, 2013. This extension provides stakeholders and interested parties two additional weeks to submit informal public comments, while still allowing CMS to meet its programmatic goals. Thank you again for your support and participation. Please see Downloads section below for the full announcement.
The June 25, 2013, from 2:00pm - 3:00pm ET, Hospital & Hospital Quality Open Door Forum is Question & Answer only. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 97148514. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
The next Hospital & Hospital Quality Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25, 2013 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm, ET. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 97148514. An agenda will be posted in the Downloads section below prior to the call. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
Please see the announcement in the Downloads section below titled, "Informal Public Comment Period: Proposed CMS PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospital Measures. CMS is requesting that stakeholders review and provide feedback on these measures. All comments on the measures must be received by July 3, 2013 at 11:59 PM (EDT), prior to the July 4th holiday.
On Thursday, May 16th, CMS hosted a webinar titled, “Data.Medicare.Gov: Get Started!” Please see the Downloads section below for the link to the May 16th webinar. Thank you.
On Thursday, May 16th, 1pm-2pm ET, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be hosting a webinar, “Data.Medicare.Gov: Get Started!” to: Provide an introduction to Data.Medicare.Gov; Demonstrate options for accessing the data; and Describe how to make use of the site’s tools for exploring and interacting with the data. Please see the Downloads section below for full announcement with background information and registration instructions.
CMS Seeks Public Comment on Defining QIO Service Areas - Comments Accepted through Friday, May 31, 2013. Please see Downloads section below for full announcement.
CMS will host a National Provider Call on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, titled: National Physician Payment Transparency Program (Open Payments) - What You Need To Know. Please see Downloads section below for full announcement.
LTCH Quality Reporting Program Requirements for FY 2014 - May 15, 2013 Deadline for FY 2014 Payment Determination. See Downloads section below for full Announcement/Reminder.
The Durable Medical Equipment, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program will be changing how some Medicare patients get covered supplies. Be sure to give your Medicare patients the correct information. Please review (copy and paste the link into your web browser) the following link for information for people who refer Medicare beneficiaries for DMEPOS: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/index.html?redirect=/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/01_overview.asp.
Please see the "New Electronic Mailing List to Keep Fee-For-Service Providers Informed" announcement in the Downloads section below.
CMS has made available two new recorded training sessions for IRFs on the QIES Technical Support Office (QTSO) website. The sessions are as follows:
1. IRF-PAI Assessment Submission Process – provides the necessary instructions for submitting IRF-PAI assessment data to the ASAP IRF-PAI Submission System beginning October 1, 2012.
2. CASPER Reports for IRFs – provides information about accessing and interpreting the ASAP system-generated IRF-PAI Facility Final Validation Report, identifies other reports available to IRFs and gives an overview of the basic functionality of the CASPER Reporting application.
• The recordings can be accessed via the e-University page on the QTSO website at https://www.qtso.com/webex/qiesclasses.php.
• Please contact the QTSO Help Desk at (800) 339-9313 or help@qtso.com if you have questions regarding this training session.