CMS releases Medicare data on outpatient charges, county-level spending

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released selected Medicare data on hospital outpatient charges, and county-level data on Medicare spending and use of health care services, writes AHA News. The outpatient data includes estimated hospital-specific charges and Medicare payments for 30 Ambulatory Payment Classification groups paid under the Medicare outpatient prospective payment system for calendar year 2011. The county-level data includes aggregated data on the prevalence of chronic conditions among Medicare beneficiaries, and Medicare spending and use for beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.