Cardiology Question for the Week of March 31, 2025

Question:

What is the significance of the 2025 OPPS updates for cardiology, and how does the CMS market basket index help track healthcare inflation?

Answer:

The 2025 OPPS updates relevant to cardiology reflect a net increase of 2.9%, which is a significant adjustment for the upcoming year. In healthcare, the term ‘market basket’ typically refers to a collection of goods and services that represent the mix of items used in providing healthcare. Specifically, for CMS, the market basket is an input price index, a combined measure of cost category weights and price proxies. This index is used to track price changes over time for the same mix of services purchased during a designated base period. Essentially, a CMS market basket is a fixed-weight, Laspeyres-type index. It adjusts for inflation by measuring the price change of the same healthcare goods and services over time. This enables the CMS to track healthcare inflation and ensure that reimbursements keep pace with these rising costs.

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