HIP Week Publishers Letter
Chuck Buck
April 16, 2026
Each year, Health Information Professionals Week gives us a meaningful opportunity to pause and recognize the vital role you play in healthcare. Your work often
As we begin the second half of the year, it is a convenient time to make plans and take stock of our coding operations. There will be much to do when the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule is released.
For example:
| Region | Median CMI |
| New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) | 1.49655 |
| Mid-Atlantic (PA, NY, NJ) | 1.5563 |
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | 1.6427 |
| West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) | 1.7216 |
| South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 1.6306 |
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | 1.59315 |
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | 1.7814 |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) | 1.7804 |
| Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) | 1.7821 |
Take the time to do this review at the beginning of July. It will clean up any problems, as well as capture additional reimbursement, when appropriate.
Listen to Laurie Johnson report this story live during today’s Talk Ten Tuesday, 10 Eastern, with Chuck Buck and Dr. Erica Remer.
IPPS FY25 Proposed Rule, pg.621, https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/fy-2025-ipps-proposed-rule-home-page
IPPS FY24 Final Rule, MAC Implementation File 8: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/fy-2024-ipps-final-rule-home-page
Each year, Health Information Professionals Week gives us a meaningful opportunity to pause and recognize the vital role you play in healthcare. Your work often
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have posted 80 new PCS codes. To break it down, there are 24 new codes that are
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Stay ahead of the 2026-2027 audit surge with “Top 10 Audit Targets for 2026-2027 for Hospitals & Physicians: Protect Your Revenue,” a high-impact webcast led by Michael Calahan, PA, MBA. This concise session gives hospitals and physicians clear insight into the most likely federal audit targets, such as E/M services, split/shared and critical care, observation and admissions, device credits, and Two-Midnight Rule changes, and shows how to tighten documentation, coding, and internal processes to reduce denials, recoupments, and penalties. Attendees walk away with practical best practices to protect revenue, strengthen compliance, and better prepare their teams for inevitable audits.
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