AHA Statement on Final FY 2019 IPPS Rule

Tom Nickels

Executive Vice President

American Hospital Association

August 2, 2018

There are a number of policies CMS finalized today that will reduce regulatory burden and help ensure America’s hospitals and health systems can continue to provide high-quality, efficient care for the patients and communities they serve. We are encouraged that this rule starts to implement the Administration’s “meaningful measures” initiative to streamline quality measurements. We also appreciate that CMS will be starting a full audit process for the “Worksheet S-10” data on charity care and bad debt to ensure data are accurate and consistent. In addition, we commend CMS for revoking the long-term care hospital 25% Rule, a change long advocated for by the AHA, but remain opposed to reductions in payments to offset that change. The agency also provided more flexibility by adopting a more performance-based approach in determining whether a hospital has met meaningful use requirements while also limiting the reporting periods to 90 days in 2019 and 2020. We also appreciate the clarification CMS offers regarding steps that may be taken to vet and register apps chosen by patients, but remain concerned about the timeline for adoption of these new approaches that will be required in 2019. At the same time, there are additional policy changes, including those affecting the area wage index, that we are analyzing to determine their ultimate impact. 

Contact:   

Marie Johnson, (202) 626-2351 mjohnson@aha.org

Colin Milligan (202) 638-5491 cmilligan@aha.org

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About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.