CMS Panel Recommends Agency Investigate New Sources To Fund Pharmacy Services
April 11, 2008
A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) advisory panel recently recommended that the agency look into new methods for reimbursing hospitals for pharmacy services.
The Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Advisory Panel issued its recommendations following a meeting last month where ASHP and other stakeholders provided testimony about the impact that the current reimbursement structure has on pharmacy overhead costs. The stakeholders asked the panel to recommend that CMS create a pool to fund payment for pharmacy services and develop a model for reimbursing hospitals.
The panel advised CMS to work with stakeholders representing hospital pharmacies to further develop the recommendations for funding pharmacy services and to analyze its potential impact.The APC panel advises CMS on issues addressed in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS). CMS’s proposed HOPPS rule is expected to be issued this summer.
Click here to read the panel’s full report.
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
