Long-term care operators last month criticized a federal proposal intended to reduce Medicare Part B therapy rates.
The rule, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services introduced at the end of June, came as a bit of a surprise. It would trim reimbursement when residents receive multiple procedures the same day.
Specifically, it would cut the practice expense (a cost component in the Physician Fee Schedule) by 50% for any secondary or subsequent procedure.
The proposed rule is problematic, noted Peter Clendenin, executive vice president for the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care.
“You add this to concurrent therapy in Part A and the therapy cap in Part B, [and] it’s starting to get to be a number of therapy issues and can create some real instability,” he said.
From the August 01, 2010 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
