CMS to launch IRF claim review demonstration

The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services announced plans to start an AHA-opposed demonstration for inpatient rehabilitation facilities Aug. 21 in Alabama and expand it to additional states at an undetermined date. Under the IRF Review Choice Demonstration, IRFs will have 100% of their traditional Medicare claims subject to either pre- or post-claim review for at least six months. AHA has opposed the demonstration as an unwarranted administrative burden. 

“This demonstration threatens access to care for seriously ill and injured Medicare beneficiaries, and will further tax rehabilitation hospitals and units that are already facing critical staffing difficulties,” said Ashley Thompson, AHA’s senior vice president for public policy analysis and development. “We will continue to urge CMS to reconsider or significantly scale back this demonstration to ensure continued access to hospital-level post-acute care.”