CMS issues corrections to FY 2016 inpatient/LTCH, SNF final rules

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday issued a correction notice to the fiscal year 2016 inpatient and long-term care hospital prospective payment system final rule, which was published Aug. 17. For the inpatient PPS, the corrections resulted in slight increases in both operating and capital rates; marginal reductions in almost all wage indexes (with a few exceptions); slightly lower uncompensated care adjustments (factor 3) for hospitals receiving Disproportionate Share Hospital payments; and a slight decrease in the outlier fixed-loss threshold (from $22,544 to $22,539). For the LTCH PPS, CMS made corrections to the Medicare Severity-LTC-Diagnosis Related Group and wage index tables. CMS also modified the outlier fixed-loss amount for LTCH site-neutral cases to align with the fixed-loss amount in the inpatient PPS ($22,539). The agency also made corrections to the FY 2016 Skilled Nursing Facility PPS final rule, which include technical corrections and a wage index change for selected SNFs in Arkansas and Maine.