Home Health & Hospice Week

But rebasing cuts are still on track for Jan. 1.

You’ll have to wait a few more weeks to get a look at final payment, case mix, and other major changes slated for 2014.

Thanks to the government shutdown, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has pushed back the publication date for the home health prospective payment final rule, which it usually releases in late October or early November. Rules for physicians, ESRD facilities, and other providers will also see delays.

"We intend to issue the final rules on or before November 27, 2013, generally to be effective on January 1, 2014," CMS says in a notice.

Reminder: CMS is proposing to cut 14 percent from HHA rates over the next four years under rebasing. "This huge cut comes on top of 20.15 percent in rate cuts since 2008 and would leave providers with an average margin of -9.77 percent by 2017," says the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. "The overreaching proposed rate cuts will result in payments far below the cost of services, thereby jeopardizing care to homebound elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries."

Take action: "The delay gives home health advocates more time to plead their case against these additional harmful cuts to Medicare’s home health benefit to policymakers and elected officials," NAHC urges.

The delay will make life even harder for software vendors (and their clients) who have to implement the 2014 changes with barely a month’s notice, attendees at the NAHC annual meeting in Washington, D.C. told Eli.