Inpatient rehabilitation facilities would receive a net 3% Medicare reimbursement increase in fiscal 2024 under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued Monday.
Using updated 2021 market basket data, CMS proposes a 3.2% base payment boost minus a 0.2% productivity adjustment. Last year, CMS initially proposed a net 2.8% reimbursement hike and then implemented a 3.2% raise in the final rule for fiscal 2023.
The draft regulation for fiscal 2024 also would modify quality reporting requirements for inpatient rehab facilities, which come with a 2% reduction in the reimbursement update for noncompliant providers. CMS is considering adding a metric that tracks how well patients function following rehabilitation and evaluating providers based on COVID-19 vaccination rates among employees and patients.
The agency also proposes eliminating a handful factors from the quality program it has determined not to be useful because of widespread adherence to the standards. And the rule would initiate tracking of what percentage of patient discharges include assessments that detail their medication use and are shared with patients, family members and other providers.
CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until June 2. The final rule is expected in October.