Check out how Part B News and its experts fared with the 2016 predictions:

CMS rolled out a final rule Dec. 20 outlining three new cardiac care models and one new orthopedic care model to start as early as July 1 as well as one new small-practice-friendly accountable care organization (ACO) track to start in 2018.

Question: A patient of a multispecialty group practice came in to see an internist. She reported herself pregnant — though this had not been medically confirmed... a few weeks later, the pregnancy was confirmed on a visit to our OB... Can the practice use the pregnancy O codes on the first visit, even though they plan to bill the confirmation code Z32.01 for the later ob/gyn visit?

Question: Medicare denied 77002 (Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement [e.g., biopsy, aspiration, injection, localization device]) when our ambulatory surgery center reported it with 20610 (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa [e.g., shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa]; without ultrasound guidance). Can you explain why we’re getting this denial?

The competition for a limited amount of incentive dollars tied to the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) may be fierce in 2017, as nearly two in five respondents to a recent medical practice survey said they would report multiple measures during the 2017 transition year.

It’s now more important than ever for physicians to check what pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers have reported about payments made to them. The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has decided that those payments warrant further scrutiny and has added it as a new topic of investigation to its 2017 Work Plan.