Home Health & Hospice Week

Final rule brings no reprieve for HHA reimbursement rates. The budget ax has fallen and it's home health agency heads that will be rolling. Back in July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a 4.75 percent cut to Medicare prospective payment system rates for 2011. The cut CMS finalizes in a rule released Nov. 2 makes an even steeper 5.2 percent cut, thanks to a lower inflation update than expected, bringing the current PPS base rate of $2,312.94 down to $2,192.07. For patients served in rural areas, the base rate with the 3 percent add-on will be $2,257.83. The 5.2 percent cut includes wage index changes and a legislatively mandated 1 percent cut to the market basket inflation update, making the MB increase only 1.1 percent ��" 0.3 percent less than in the proposed rule. It also includes a 2.5 percent reduction due to outlier calculation changes. "The [...]