ASH Comments on Proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Changes

August 28, 2008 – On August 20, ASH submitted comments on proposed revisions to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Among other comments, ASH encouraged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to extend the availability of alternative reporting periods to providers participating in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) through claims-based reporting of individual measures. ASH also indicated that it does not support the public reporting of providers that participate in the PQRI program, citing the inherent instability in what is still a very new initiative. Finally, ASH expressed concern that the proposed expansion of the Hospital Acquired Conditions (HAC) Payment Policy be implemented in a way that captures only those conditions that are under the full control of the institution in question.