The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a more than 1,300-page proposed rule that would update Medicare’s Inpatient Prospective Payment System for fiscal year 2013. Parties affected by the proposed changes are encouraged to review the document with counsel in order to assess the impact of the updates and to prepare comments for submission to CMS.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted a proposed rule on April 24, 2012, that would update Medicare’s Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for fiscal year 2013. The proposal would update and modify a variety of payment factors and policies, including the Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs), wage index, value-based purchasing and readmission programs, graduate medical education payments and a variety of rules impacting long-term care hospitals (LTCHs). The proposed rule is available on the agency’s website, at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service- Payment/AcuteInpatientPPS/FY-2013-IPPS-Proposed-Rule-Home Page.html, and will appear in the Federal Register on May 11, 2012. Comments on the proposed rule are due June 25, 2012.