Policies in CMS' final inpatient payment rule for 2020 will, on average, increase Medicare payments to rural U.S. hospitals, including those in Louisiana, CMS Administrator Seema Verma wrote in a letter published by The Advocate.
CMS released the final payment rule Aug. 2, which includes increasing the wage index for hospitals with a wage index value below the 25th percentile.
In her letter, Ms. Verma said these changes will benefit many rural hospitals so they can improve hospital employee pay, maintain their workforce and ensure healthcare access.
"We received nearly 8,000 comments on our proposals, and there was widespread recognition and agreement that Medicare payments should be modernized to support low wage areas," she wrote. "The policies in this new rule will, on average, help rural hospitals in Louisiana see a 3.4 percent increase in Medicare payments."
Read Ms. Verma's full letter here.
More articles on healthcare finance:
Bernie Sanders overstating medical debt-bankruptcy link, newspaper analysis finds
Georgia task force to tackle healthcare costs, price transparency
20 years later: How Ohio's review process for appealing healthcare coverage decisions has fared