In news for both specialty hospitals and the broader industry as a whole, CMS administrator Mark McClellan said yesterday that the government will alter the way it pays hospitals to encourage them to treat the sickest patients. McClellan said Medicare reimbursements will be fine-tuned in the near future, with payments going down for illnesses judged by the agency to be less serious, such as a cardiac care. That move would directly impact specialty providers who allegedly benefit from being able to pick and chose patients. CMS will also take another look into the legal question of whether specialty hospitals meet the government's definition of a "hospital." If CMS experts decide they don't, that would mean reclassification as ambulatory surgery centers and lower reimbursements.
- see this story from the Associated Press