The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has introduced new "common-sense safeguards" that have removed nearly 25,000 "bad actors" from Medicare, CMS said in a statement today. The provisions, summarized in a fact sheet, let the agency deny the enrollment of providers with unpaid debt, a history of abusive billing or convictions for certain felony offenses. In addition, loopholes have been closed in certain billing scenarios, which CMS says should save $327 million annually. The final rule will appear in the Federal Register on Friday. Final rule (.pdf)