The re-named Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payments, or HOP, will hold its first semi-annual meeting for 2012 Feb. 27-29, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced last week.
The panel was formerly known as the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Groups, or the APC Panel. It advises the HHS Secretary and CMS administrator on the clinical integrity of the APC groups and their associated weights and will now also review hospital outpatient supervision issues.
The HOP is accepting testimony through Dec. 30 on changing supervision levels for individual therapeutic services under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system.
According to CMS, discussion topics will include:
- Whether procedures within an APC group are similar both clinically and in terms of resource use.
- Evaluating APC group weights.
- Reviewing the packaging of OPPS services and costs, including the methodology and the impact on APC groups and payment.
- Removing procedures from the inpatient list for payment under the OPPS.
- Using single and multiple procedure claims data for CMS’ determination of APC group weights.
- Other technical issues concerning APC group structure.
- Supervision of outpatient services.
Pre-registration for the 3-day February meeting closes January 27, 2012.
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