CMS issues RFI to gather best practices for identifying and supporting safety net hospitals
As part of the FY24 proposed rule for hospital inpatient payments, CMS is seeking healthcare stakeholder input on how to best support safety net hospitals in the Medicare program. The agency is considering ways to reimburse safety net hospitals via supplemental payments that may be better targeted than disproportionate share hospital (DSH) and uncompensated care…
Congress seems inclined to expand site-neutral payment policies in Medicare (updated)
Momentum is building in Congress toward expanding site-neutral payment in Medicare, a move that could reduce payments to hospitals by billions of dollars per year. A recent hearing, which lasted 5 ½ hours, focused on various ideas for promoting transparency and competition in healthcare. The hearing included references to 17 bills or discussion drafts, several…
The COVID-19 public health emergency is over: Here’s what healthcare providers should know
An era ends for the U.S. healthcare industry with the termination of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) at the close of the day on Thursday, May 11. The termination means providers are losing many of the federal waivers and flexibilities that have been in place for all or most of the PHE, which took…
Susan Dentzer: Perspectives differ on Medicare’s 2 houses
Drive through rural New England and you’ll see them: “connected farms,” cobbling together houses, sheds, barns and outbuildings in disjointed structures. Often centuries old, they are at once unlovely, yet exude charm. To me, they’re a perfect metaphor for the jumble of Medicare. How else does one describe a program that baffles new enrollees as…
News Briefs: Medicare’s proposed FY24 update to inpatient payments falls short, hospitals say
Hospitals are less than pleased with Medicare’s proposed FY24 payment increase for inpatient care. In regulations released April 10, the net inpatient payment update is 2.8% after factoring in a mandatory productivity adjustment of -0.2 percentage points. As usual, the update would be reduced for any hospital that does not fulfill quality-reporting requirements or qualify…
FY 2024 IPPS/LTCH Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of its proposed rule describing federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 policies and rates for Medicare’s inpatient prospective payment system and the long-term care hospital prospective payment system.
FY 2024 Skilled Nursing Facilities PPS Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of the proposed rule updating the Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) payment rates for fiscal year (FY) 2024.
Hospitals are facing a long slog to return to pre-pandemic normalcy, panelists say
The logjam of patients who cannot be seen expeditiously at hospitals is becoming an entrenched problem with no imminent solutions, a CMS leader said this week. “The data tells us healthcare services, particularly for the Medicare population, have not come back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Jonathan Blum, principal deputy administrator and COO with CMS. “We’re…
FY 2024 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System proposed rule, published in the April 10, 2023, Federal Register.
FY 2024 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of the proposed rule updating the Medicare hospice payment rates, wage index, the cap amount, and the quality reporting requirements for federal fiscal year (FY) 2024.