Krista Drobac, partner at Sirona Strategies breaks down the specifics of the recent bill, and explains why the bill was passed by the House and Senate.
“The budget bill raised spending limits, and they needed an offset; which means they needed a way to pay for it. What they did, was they implemented a site neutral payment for hospitals and doctors. The way that this saves money for Medicare, is in the past, patients with similar clinical profiles would be sent to different locations. The payment in these locations would be different, but they could be in the same service.
For example, a surgical procedure can take place either in an inpatient or an outpatient facility. You can get rehab in a skilled nursing facility, or you can get in patient rehab. Another example is chemotherapy, you can get that in a physician office or you can get that in a hospital outpatient facility,” Drobac says.