CMS has proposed a 2.2 percent pay cut for home health providers next year, or an estimated $375 million less than 2023 levels.
Four things to know:
1. The proposed rule would increase payments to 2.7 percent, or $460 million, but home health agencies would see a 5.1 percent decrease that reflects the effects of the permanent behavior assumption adjustment (a $870 million decrease) and an estimated 0.2 percent increase for a proposed update to the fixed-dollar loss ratio used in determining outlier payments (a $35 million increase).
2. For 2024, using updated 2022 claims and the methodology finalized in the 2023 rule, CMS determined that it paid more under the new system than it would have under the old system. So, the agency is proposing an additional permanent adjustment percentage of -5.653 percent in 2024 to address the differences in the aggregate expenditures.
3. CMS is proposing to adopt two new measures for the home health quality reporting program in 2025, including a measure on the percentage of patients who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. The agency also proposed various changes to the measures used in the Home Health Value-based Purchasing program and the weighting methodology used to score performance and payment adjustments in the program.
4. The proposed rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register on July 10, with CMS accepting comments on the draft through Aug. 29.
Click here for more details on the proposed rule.