The recent temporary physician pay fix also decides certain nursing home therapy reimbursement rates.
Nursing home therapy reimbursement rates under Medicare Part B are tied to the physician pay schedule. The recent congressional action blocking a 21.3% pay cut and replacing it with a 2.2% pay raise affects the nursing home reimbursement rates, according to a recent American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging newsletter. The provision is set to expire at the end of November.
In other regulatory news, Congress has delayed action on a tax extenders bill that would repeal the delayed implementation of the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) IV. Thought RUG-IV is currently set to take effect Oct 1, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will implement an interim version of RUG-IV this Oct. 1 of this year. (McKnight’s, 5/26/10) Congressional action on the stalled measure, however, would eliminate the need for the interim measure.
