Diagnostic Imaging Intelligence Report

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing extensive changes to the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for 2009, including a change to the definition of physician-owned hospitals, a modification of the physician self-referral "stand in the shoes" provisions, clarification of the period of time for which a physician would be prohibited from referring Medicare patients to an entity, and expansion of initiatives linking quality to payment.