Site-Neutral Rule Will Level Reimbursement For Urgent Care

Site-Neutral Rule Will Level Reimbursement For Urgent Care

When major health systems acquire off-campus clinics, they’ve historically been able to use their main hospital’s assigned 10-digit National Provider Identifier (NPI) number to bill Medicare for routine visits at the off-campus site, securing significantly higher facility-level reimbursements. But starting in 2028, a new bipartisan policy will require hospitals to use distinct NPIs when billing for Medicare services provided at their off-campus outpatient sites. This concept of “site-neutral payment” will impact urgent care centers, essentially …

Read More
Patients Confused by ‘Urgent Care’ Label on Hospital EDs

Patients Confused by ‘Urgent Care’ Label on Hospital EDs

How free-standing emergency departments (EDs) present themselves to the community continues to cause confusion for patients, ultimately leading to unexpectedly higher medical bills and negative overall experiences. Some free-standing EDs have the term “urgent care” in their name, which many believe is misleading. And now there is at least one effort to investigate a class action lawsuit for patients who accessed what they believed was urgent care—based on the facility’s sign out front—only to find …

Read More
Log In