AHA comments on FY 2024 proposed rule for skilled nursing facilities

In comments submitted June 5, AHA said it appreciates that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a net positive update for the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system for fiscal year 2024, but remains concerned that the agency’s market basket approach lags in recognizing inflationary trends and may not fully capture the rising costs of care. As CMS considers how to ensure SNFs are adequately resourced to care for Medicare beneficiaries, AHA asked the agency to pay special attention to hospital-based SNFs, which faced immense challenges with each surge of the pandemic and its after-effects, including skyrocketing labor and supply costs and acute labor shortages.