The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late Friday issued a proposed rule updating payment rates for skilled nursing facilities for fiscal year 2020. CMS proposes a net payment increase of 2.5 percent, or $887 million, compared to FY 2019. This includes a 3.0 percent market-basket update, offset by a statutorily required 0.5 percent productivity reduction.
 
The rule also would implement a new SNF payment model that was finalized in last year’s rulemaking. This would contribute to substantial payment improvements for hospital-based SNFs in FY 2020 (12.6 percent increase for urban and 23.3 percent increase for rural hospital-based SNFs).
 
In addition, the rule would put in place a process for updating ICD-10 codes under the new payment model, and make the definition of group therapy more consistent with the definition in other post-acute care payment systems. 
 
For the SNF Quality Reporting Program, CMS proposes to modify one measure, adopt two new process measures and 22 standardized patient assessment data elements, plus seven more data elements related to social determinants of health. 
 
CMS will accept comments on the rule through June 18.

Related News Articles

Headline
Ashley Thompson, AHA senior vice president of public policy analysis and development, participated in a panel discussion during Modern Healthcare's Leadership…
Headline
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine today issued an order denying preliminary injunctions requested by AbbVie and Novartis in legal challenges…
Headline
The AHA commented Sept. 15 on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services calendar year 2026 outpatient prospective payment system and ambulatory surgical…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 urged Aetna to rescind its recently announced “level of severity inpatient payment” policy, saying that it “could erode the transparency…
Headline
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Sept. 12 affirmed a Mississippi Court’s decision to deny AbbVie’s request for a preliminary injunction…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 8 urged the Federal Trade Commission and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to investigate several drug companies’ concerted efforts…