Cigna's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by South Amboy, N.J.-based Metropolitan Surgical Institute was partially denied, according to a document filed July 31 in the New Jersey District Court.

CMS released its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule for 2021 Aug. 3, which could result in drastic cuts for surgeons across the board.

There are currently around 1,740 procedures on CMS' inpatient only list, which is reviewed and updated annually. However, CMS proposed eliminating the inpatient only list in 2021 after years of receiving comments advising the agency to allow physicians to decide on the clinical site of service.

CMS proposed removing some provisions in the expansion exception process for physician-owned hospitals that serve high numbers of Medicaid inpatients in the 2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule.

CMS proposed adding 11 procedure codes to the ASC payable list, including total hip replacement, according to ASCA.

CMS released its proposed hospital outpatient payment rule for 2021 that would increase ASC reimbursement rates about 2.6 percent if approved as drafted.

CMS released its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule for 2021 Aug. 3, which made several drastic cuts to payment rates for both general and specialty surgeons. 

In early April, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that a portion of the $100 billion CARES Act Provider Relief Fund would be used to reimburse health care providers for COVID-related treatment of uninsured patients.

Most workers' compensation surgical cases were postponed as states responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Frank Raneri, senior vice president of Paradigm Specialty Networks, in an article on WorkCompWire.

UnitedHealthcare has room for improvement when it comes to reducing unnecessary costs and otherwise serving employers that fund health plans, suggested a recent survey of 174 executives.

CMS published 11 Current Procedural Terminology Category III codes that took effect July 1 in the ASC payment system.

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 17 that HHS was within its rights to reduce payments to hospital outpatient departments, reversing a district court's earlier decision. 

Most specialty providers who bill out of network do so less than 10 percent of the time, according to a recent analysis by the Health Care Cost Institute, an independent, nonprofit research institute.

Mnet Health, a company providing revenue cycle management services to the surgical industry, reported a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase in patient payments in June, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elective surgery delays and the resulting losses for hospitals and surgery centers will drive up costs for employers, payers and patients, ConsumerMedical concluded based on a recent data analysis.

Traverse City, Mich.-based Copper Ridge Surgery Center hired a finance controller, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Three surgery centers that filed for bankruptcy in the past year:

The CDC's ICD-10-CM code update for fiscal year 2021 includes 57 new musculoskeletal codes, according to Part B News.

As healthcare organizations develop strategies to secure financial well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, they can glean critical insights from workflow, business intelligence and denial management technologies.

At the onset of the pandemic, increasing use of three codes — 31500 for emergency intubations, 99291 for intensive care unit treatment and 99233 for complex hospital visits — reflected rising numbers of COVID-19 patients, according to Tony Mira, president and CEO of Anesthesia Business Consultants.