Volume 22.13
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has released the final rule updating the Medicare hospice payment rates and aggregate CAP amount for FY 2023, which begins on October 1, 2022.
The FY 2023 hospice payment update percentage is 3.8%. This is a result of the 4.1% market basket percentage increase reduced by a 0.3 percentage point productivity adjustment. Hospices that fail to meet quality reporting requirements receive a two percent (2%) reduction to the annual hospice payment update percentage increase for the year.
National rates, before application of the wage index for FY 2023 are as follows:
Routine home care (days 1-60) $ 211.34
Routine home care (days 61+) $ 167.00
Continuous home care (24 hours) $ 1,522.04
Inpatient respite care
General inpatient care $ 1,110.76
The hospice payment update includes a statutory aggregate cap that limits the overall payments per patient that is made to a hospice annually. The CAP amount for FY 2023 is $32,486.92 (FY 2022 CAP amount of $31,297.61 increased by 3.8%).
The final rule also established for FY 2023 and subsequent years a permanent budget neutral five percent (5%) CAP on any decrease to a geographical area’s wage index.
The final rule can be accessed at 2022-16214.pdf (federalregister.gov).
TELEHEALTH EXTENSION APPEARS LIKELY
The House of Representatives has passed the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021 bill which would extend telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2024. The legislation appears to have very broad support as it should. Currently, the ability to utilize telehealth services continues during the duration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The legislation would make permanent the ability of federally-qualified health centers (“FQHCs”) and rural health clinics (“RHCs”) to use telehealth.
2022 HOSPICE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ACADEMY ALMOST FULL
The 2022 Financial Management Academy, scheduled for September 19-20, 2022, in New Orleans is close to being full. If you are interested in attending this program, information, including registration, is available here. Additionally, rooms at the substantially reduced price at the Hotel Monteleone are only available for another two weeks. Thereafter rooms will be available at standard prices offered by the hotel. We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans.