CMS also proposed including emergency medicine E/M codes this year as part of its “misvalued codes” initiative that each year looks to identify codes in the fee schedule for potential revaluation in order to ensure better payment accuracy in Medicare. ACEP emphasized that the intensity in reported ED services has increased significantly over the past years but noted that it is premature to advise specifics on potential revaluation of any E/M codes at this time for a number of reasons.

While they are less impactful for emergency physicians, ACEP provided a response to several provisions of the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (HOPPS) proposed rule that suggests changes to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) program. ACEP strongly supported a new proposal to account for social risk factors in the OQR. While noting the importance of measuring ED throughput times for psychiatric patients, ACEP expressed strong concerns with CMS’s proposal to publicly report results on the Physician Compare website of this measure in the OQR program, given a lack of context that would be reported along with the results.

The final rule for the MACRA QPP program is expected sometime in October, while the fee schedule and HOPPS rules are both expected to be released in final form in November. ACEP will provide a summary to members of any changes in Medicare these rules will bring to their practice for the 2018 calendar year.

Ms. Wooster is ACEP’s associate executive director of public affairs, overseeing the College’s federal legislative, regulatory, grassroots, and public relations functions. Prior to joining ACEP, Ms. Wooster served as senior vice president of public policy for the American Osteopathic Association. She also spent five years at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, first developing policy on delivery system reform and health IT, then as a congressional and administration lobbyist. Ms. Wooster holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health.