Vernaglia Quoted on CMS Proposal

Boston Partner Larry Vernaglia was quoted in an article that appeared in Modern Healthcare on July 8, 2013 titled “CMS proposal would boost some Medicare payments.” The article reports on rules proposed by the CMS that would boost Medicare payments to hospitals by 1.8% in the following year. Mr. Vernaglia, chair of the Health Care Industry Team at Foley, said the proposed bundled payments are the latest examples of the CMS shift aimed at saving Medicare money. “Obviously, that can’t help but reduce reimbursement,” he said. Further, as part of the ongoing debate over differing payments for the same services provided in different care settings, Mr. Vernaglia said he took it as a good sign that the rule explicitly acknowledged “resource costs required to furnish a service to be higher in a hospital or ASC, which have to meet conditions of participation and conditions for coverage. So they sort of get it,” he said.