Proposed changes in medicare hospital payments would affect pharmacy and beyond: Drug companies push to rein in 340b discount drugs

摘要

A couple of pharmacy issues are hanging in the balance as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) considers changes to Medicare hospital inpatient reimbursement in 2014.One change would require that patients be discharged and readmitted each time they are transferred as inpatients between a cancer center and a co-located hospital. This change has implications for medication management.The second proposal clarifies that a physician's order triggers an "inpatient" status (a hospital stay of longer than two midnights following an inpatient admission). This change has implications for costs. First, it would become more difficult for hospitals to move inpatients to "outpatient observation" status (a hospital stay of less than two midnights), thereby allowing hospitals to include these patients among those who are eligible for 340B drug discounts (which helps hospitals build revenue).