Overall, hospices will receive a 0.9 percent increase in Medicare payments in fiscal year 2013 under the annual update to the hospice wage index, according to an AHA News Now report.
CMS' increase in hospice payments is based on a 2.6 percent inflation-adjusted increase minus a 0.7 productivity adjustment and 0.3 percent adjustment required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Additionally, a 0.6 percent decrease is part of CMS' seven-year phase-out of the wage index's budget neutrality adjustment factor. Updated wage data attributes to another 0.1 decrease in hospice payments, according to the report.
After FY2013, the PPACA requires CMS to reform the hospice payment system. The agency is considering multiple approaches to reform, including a case-mix adjustment, according to the report.
CMS Transmittal Offers Safeguards to Prevent Improper Payments Identified in OIG Reports
South Carolina to Cut Medicaid Payments by 3%
CMS' increase in hospice payments is based on a 2.6 percent inflation-adjusted increase minus a 0.7 productivity adjustment and 0.3 percent adjustment required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Additionally, a 0.6 percent decrease is part of CMS' seven-year phase-out of the wage index's budget neutrality adjustment factor. Updated wage data attributes to another 0.1 decrease in hospice payments, according to the report.
After FY2013, the PPACA requires CMS to reform the hospice payment system. The agency is considering multiple approaches to reform, including a case-mix adjustment, according to the report.
More Articles Related to Medicare and Medicaid Payments:
CMS Issues 2013 Home Health Prospective Payment System Proposed RuleCMS Transmittal Offers Safeguards to Prevent Improper Payments Identified in OIG Reports
South Carolina to Cut Medicaid Payments by 3%