Physicians and practice managers are not ready to comply with a July 1 deadline for a new Medicare billing policy that would pay lower rates for certain office visits and other services in facility-owned physician practices, associations representing doctors and administrators have told government officials.
Physician offices wholly owned or operated by hospitals will be required starting on that date to change their coding practices under a regulation from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The policy requires a hospital and its entities providing outpatient services to coordinate billing efforts when patients are admitted to the hospital or soon afterward.
Source: Charles Feigel, AMNews [6/18/12]