Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

If you have ideas about how CMS should pay for therapy services in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), now is your chance to be heard.

CMS has contracted with the Brookings Institution and Acumen in a research project to identify possible alternatives to the existing methodology used to pay for therapy under the SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS), according to a February CMS Open Door Forum (ODF). The researchers are just beginning the project — conducting a stakeholder outreach campaign and literature review.

Next fall, the researchers will begin the next phase of the project and start to identify ideas for designing a new system to pay for therapy in SNFs, according to the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care(NASL).

You can get more information by visiting the project’s webpage at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/SNFPPS/therapyresearch.html. If you want to submit your comments or suggestions, you can email them to SNFTherapyPayments@cms.hhs.gov.