Outpatient Charges Would Decrease, ASC Payments Rise Slightly

Staff for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation proposed to its board of directors Thursday a new outpatient medical fee schedule that would decrease reimbursements by 5% over 2016, and a new ambulatory surgery center schedule that would increase costs 4.4%. The revisions are to keep the agency in sync with Medicare’s prospective payment systems, which are updated annually, BWC said. While Medicare is increasing rates next year by 1.55%, the BWC is proposing to reduce its payment adjustment factor for most hospitals to 158% versus last year’s 167%. That's a 19.8% decr...