MedPAC’s recent recommendations to revise the paymentsystem for skilled nursing facilities drew praise Monday from the head of thelargest nonprofit association for long-term care providers.
“We think they’re right on target,” LarryMinnix, president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services forthe Aging, told McKnight’s. “We’ve been saying for a long time that thosenursing homes, whether not-for-profit or for-profit, are taking care of thecomplex medical patients that are not the more profitable market niches. Thosenursing homes ought to be paid more for those complex medical patients.”
MedPAC, the Medicare advisory body of Congress, on Fridayreleased its June 2008 Report to the Congress: Reforming the Delivery System.The report offered reform across the Medicare payment system. Regarding SNFs,the panel recommended revising the payment system to incorporate a nontherapyancillary payment component, a therapy payment component, and an outlier policybased on exceptionally high ancillary costs per stay.
