CMS proposes payment increase for hospices in FY 2021

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 10 issued a proposed rule to update hospice payment rates for fiscal year 2021. CMS proposes a 2.6% net increase to payments of $580 million, compared to FY 2020. This includes a 3.0% market-basket update, offset by a statutorily required reduction of 0.4% for productivity.

The net increase would raise the aggregate hospice cap to $30,743.86.

In addition, the rule proposes to sunset the budget-neutrality adjustment factor for service intensity, which has been in effect since FY 2016 and set at 0.1% in recent years. CMS will accept comments on the rule through June 9.