2006 proposed fee schedule - American Society of Clinical Oncology

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as part of the Columbus, OH CBSA, code 18140. The new CBSA
wage index applicable to Serve U Well, adjusted for budget
neutrality, is 1.0077. Applying the wage index of 1.0077 to
the revised labor related component of the base composite
rate for hospital-based facilities shown in Table 26 yields
a wage-adjusted composite rate of $132.96.
( $ 71.
12 × 1.
0077)
+ $ 61.
29 = $ 132.
96
Serve U Well’s current rural Ohio wage-adjusted
composite payment rate is $128.66. Because the revised
wage-adjusted composite payment rate of $132.96 is greater
than $128.66, Serve U Well would receive 100 percent of its
new wage-adjusted composite payment rate of $132.96
beginning January 1, 2006.
As in the previous example, the 8.9 percent drug add-on
adjustment and relevant case-mix adjustments (related to the
budget neutrality adjustment) would be applied to this new
wage-adjusted composite rate.
(7) Frequency of Update
Section 623(d)(1) of the MMA provides that any revised
wage index used in connection with the composite payment
rates must be phased-in over a multiyear period. We are
proposing a two-year transition period to the new wage
indexes based on CBSAs. An issue remains as to how
frequently the new wage index values should be updated to
reflect changes in area wage levels. These changes would be