The 2020 calendar year was certainly challenging for revenue integrity professionals, as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic stressed the workforce, necessitated new working environments, and led to frequent regulatory updates. Through case studies, news, and analysis in the weekly Revenue Integrity Insider enewsletter and the quarterly NAHRI Journal, NAHRI worked to keep the revenue integrity community informed of all the changes. Let’s take a look back at NAHRI’s most-read stories from 2020.
The biggest surprise about the 2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, released December 2, 2020, was how few surprises it contained. CMS finalized most policies as proposed or continued with current policies, easing some of the burden on organizations that had a scant few weeks to implement policy changes.
The 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (final rule, released December 1, 2020, capped a turbulent year with the promise of reimbursement gains for evaluation and management and extended telehealth services, but a steep cut to the Medicare conversion factor.
NAHRI’s Revenue Integrity Symposium is a fantastic way to network with and learn from revenue integrity professionals from across the country. But have you considered that RIS can also help hone your professional speaking skills? NAHRI is currently seeking healthcare professionals who are willing to throw their hat into the RIS ring and submit proposals for the 2021 symposium. We will gather October 19–20, 2021, in Kissimmee, Florida.
The 2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, released December 2, moves ahead with most of the provisions of the proposed rule. This should come as a relief to hospitals required to implement most of its policies by January 1, 2021.
