Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) Removal from the Medicare Inpatient-Only (IPO) List and Application of the 2-Midnight Rule
This article focuses on TKA procedures and application of the 2-Midnight Rule now that this procedure has been removed from Medicare’s inpatient-only (IPO) list. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) removed the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code describing TKAprocedures from Medicare’s Inpatient-Only List (IPO) effective January 2018. This allows TKA procedures to be performed on an inpatientor outpatient basis. In other words, it allows Medicare payment to be made to the hospital for TKA procedures regardless of whether a beneficiary is admitted to the hospital as an inpatientor as an outpatient, assuming all other criteria are met. This does not have any impact on CMS’ 2-midnight policy.
Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Issue Date: January 08, 2019
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