Now that Medicare has released the hospice final rule for 2024, you should get familiar with the changes. Among other things, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services increased payment rates by 3.1 percent and tightened enrollment qualifications for ordering physicians in the 36-page rule (see HHHW by AAPC, Vol. XXXII, No. 28). CMS lays out the changes in an Aug. 10 MLN Matters article at www.cms.gov/files/document/mm13289-hospice-payments-fy-2024-update.pdf.
Important: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 “changed the payment reduction for failing to meet hospice quality reporting requirements from 2 to 4 percent starting with FY 2024,” CMS reminds in the article.