Hospices will see a smaller pay hike in fiscal 2020 than anticipated, after the CMS Wednesday finalized a 2.6%, or $520 million, raise for the providers. The agency in April proposed a 2.7% increase.
The agency also finalized its payment policy for inpatient rehabilitation facilities, giving them a 2.5%, or $210 million, raise for fiscal 2020. The CMS initially proposed a $195 million increase.
Unifying post-acute payments is a goal of the CMS, and the agency said these final rules further that.
But the rules went beyond adjusting facility pay. The CMS also added two quality measures for inpatient rehab facilities. The agency will require facilities to submit a reconciled medication list when a patient is transferred or discharged.
In April, the CMS proposed using a new case-mix model to focus Medicare payments on the patient's condition and move toward value-based payment.
