TheCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services set off a backlash fromnursing home operators late Friday afternoon when it proposed“adjustments” that would cut Medicare payments by $1.05 billionin fiscal 2010. The 3.3% reduction will “largely” be offset by a2.1% market basket increase, officials said.
Regulatorsstressed they would be simply closing a four-year window in whichproviders were paid far more than originally forecasted after a 2006payment adjustment for certain therapy groupings. Providers, however,claimed the cut would be working against the spirit of the recentlypassed economic stimulus bill, endangering resident care and causingthousands of caregiver job losses.
“Implementingthis old Bush Administration Medicare regulation will undermineseniors’ future access to quality care in the setting of theirchoice” and “sidetrack our sector’s ongoing ability to creategood-paying health jobs,” said Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO ofthe American Health Care Association (AHCA)..
Althoughthe announcement might have been a surprise to some, federalregulators had made no secret of their desire to “correct” thepayment levels. Also, just two days before the CMS proposed rule cameout, the AHCA ally the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Carereleased a study of its own, claiming that, contrary to many reports,economic conditions were restricting nursing homes’ access tocapital, thereby causing widespread negative ripple effects.
Besidesrecalibrating and updating skilled nursing facility PPS rates forfiscal 2010, the rule also would propose a revised case-mixclassification methodology (RUG-IV) and implementation schedule forfiscal 2011. It would take into account staff-time data derived from“the recently completed Staff Time and Resource IntensityVerification (STRIVE) project.” It also would ask for comment on apossible new requirement for the quarterly reporting of nursing homestaffing data. The agency is accepting public comments on theproposals until June 30. More can be found here.
