Advisory
AHA Advisories provide urgent information for AHA members and the health care field, and actions they may need to take.
In December 2003, the AHA sent you a Member Advisory that included two documents designed to help hospitals assist their patients of limited means. The first, ")Hospital Billing and Collections Practices - Statement of Principles and Guidelines by the Board of Trustees of the ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿â€¦
As required under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act, the Department of Homeland Security \(DHS\) in July 2003 issued a final rule implementing a new certification requirement for all non-immigrant alien health care workers - aliens who are in the U.S. on temporary…
Provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act Impacting Outpatient
In the January 6 Federal Register, CMS issued an interim final rule with a comment period, implementing provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 \(MMA\) that change policies and payment rates for the 2004 hospital outpatient prospective payment system…
Americas hospitals and their communities have a longstanding bond, and part of that bond is an inherent promise to be there doors open, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, caring for all who walk through your doors, regardless of ability to pay. That bond is threatened by the difficulties and…
CMS published in the November 7 Federal Register the final rule for the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system \(OPPS\) for calendar year \(CY\) 2004. In addition to statutory changes for 2004, the rule contains considerable policy changes, such as revisions to the Ambulatory…
NEW MEDICARE COST REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: Hospitals must report information about uncompensated care
Important changes to the Medicare cost report will require every hospital to report information on the uncompensated care they provide. These changes already are in effect and apply to cost report periods ending on or after April 30, 2003. Because most hospitals file cost reports later in the…
On September 9, CMS published a proposed rule concerning the 20-year-old 75% Rule for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities \(IRF\). Unfortunately, the agency ignored the concerns of the field by failing to modernize the 75% Rule. The attached Advisory highlights our main critiques of the proposed…
On September 3, CMS issued final regulations clarifying hospital responsibilities under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act \(EMTALA\), to take effect November 10. They were published in the Federal Register on September 9and can be accessed by clicking ")Compliance") and then ")EMTALA…