Late Friday afternoon, CMS issued their final rule for FY2010 for inpatient reimbursement rates. When we reviewed specific areas of spine, the rule turned out to be a boost compared to their April proposal.
Spine reimbursement rates were finalized at an average increase of 6%-8%. Across all major categories, fusion rate increases compared favorably to 2009, ranging from of 1.5% (for 360 fusions) to 6.9% (cervical fusion). The same applies to vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty, which received a 3.2% payment increase compared to 2009. Each overall category of spine also received an increase versus the 2010 proposed payment rates.
Other major categories of orthopedics received final rate increases as well. Trauma received a weighted average rate increase of 3.8% compared to 2009, and hips and knees received a 4.4% increase compared to 2009. Similar to spine, each of these treatment categories fared better than the 2010 rates proposed three months ago.
This final inpatient ruling is viewed to be a positive for care providers and has the potential alleviate some of the pricing concerns device industry analysts have been highlighting in the past several months.
