On July 19, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed Medicare payment rates for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services. The Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and ASC Payment System Proposed Rule is published annually and will have a 60-day comment period, which will end on September 17, 2021. The final rule with comment period will be issued in early November.
In addition to proposing updated payment rates, this year’s rule includes proposals that align with several key goals of the Administration, including addressing the health equity gap, fighting the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), encouraging transparency in the health system, and promoting safe, effective, and patient-centered care.
The proposed rule would further the agency’s commitment to strengthening Medicare and uses the lessons learned from the COVID-19 PHE to inform the approach to quality measurement, focusing on changes that will help to close the health equity gap.
As with these other rules, CMS is publishing this proposed rule to meet the legal requirements to update Medicare payment policies for OPPS hospitals and ASCs on an annual basis. This fact sheet discusses the major provisions of the proposed rule (CMS- 1753-P), which can be downloaded here.
