Volume 24.07
The Health Group, LLC has scheduled the 2024 Hospice Financial Administration Conference for September 30 – October 1, 2024. The two-day program will be held at the Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.
We have negotiated very favorable room rates with the Property ($199/night), reduced daily resort fees, and many additional benefits for program attendees. The negotiated rates are available on dates preceding and following the scheduled program dates.
We are currently developing specific educational programs for the two-day event based on pressing issues and providing insight and discussion regarding the anticipated direction of hospice and related services. As always, our programs address modern financial management, regulatory updates, financial and administrative compliance, and expansion of service offerings.
Additional details will be available soon, including registration and instructions for reserving your rooms at the Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort. As always, space is limited to ensure the quality of the program and the interactive nature of the program.
We hope to see you or someone from your organization in Phoenix. Contact us with any questions you may have at conference@healthgroup.com.
PREPARING FOR HOSPICE RATE CHANGES EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2024
The proposed daily hospice rates effective October 1, 2024, excluding any geographical modifications to those rates, are as follows:
Routine home care (days 1-60) $ 223.83
Routine home care (days 61+) $ 176.39
Continuous home care (full 24 hours of care) $1,610.34
Inpatient respite care $ 518.15
General inpatient care $1,166.98
The continuous care hourly rate is $67.10, before wage adjustment. This is also the rate paid for Service Intensity Adjustment (“SIA”).
Hospices that fail to submit required quality data will be subjected to a four percent (4%) reduction to the payment update percentage, which is an increase from the previous two percent (2%) payment reduction.
Wage adjustments, based on the patient’s location, are applied to the labor share of each payment rate. The labor share by level of care is as follows:
Routine home care
Continuous home care 75.2%
Inpatient respite care 61.0%
General inpatient care 63.5%
The proposed 2025 wage index is available here.
The proposed hospice cap for the 2025 CAP Year, which ends September 30, 2025, is $34,364.85. The proposed rule is available for your review here.
The increase in hospice payment rates proposed to be effective October 1, 2024, are in most observer’s opinion, inadequate based on the many financial pressures being placed on hospices, which are not just increasing costs but also increasing regulatory pressures requiring an increase in economic resources required. Regardless, hospices need to be planning for the limited increase in revenues to address the extensive increase in expenses.