Medicare confuses by dropping TKA from the “in-patient only” list of procedures

New Guidance Attempts to Resolve Confusion Regarding the Removal of TKA from IPO List (AAOS)
On Jan. 8, in a major win for AAOS’ advocacy efforts, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued unprecedented guidance to help resolve confusion regarding the removal of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) from the Medicare inpatient-only (IPO) list.
The 2018 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Final Rule included a policy change allowing for payment of TKA procedures in either the hospital inpatient or outpatient setting. Unfortunately, the policy change precipitated...