04/07/2022

FY2023 Hospice Payment Rule proposes 2.7% update, mitigation policy for significant wage index losses

Last Wednesday, March 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Medicare Program; FY 2023 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Requirements, a proposed rule governing hospice payment and other policies for fiscal year (FY) 2023.

The proposed rule was issued much earlier than is customary, and — likely due to the continuing Public Health Emergency (PHE) and the various other changes implemented over the last two years – is quite limited in scope. However, CMS has taken the opportunity presented by the rule to propose some useful policy changes, including a permanent mitigation policy to smooth the impact of year-to-year changes in hospice payments resulting from changes in the hospice wage index.

Another important advancement in the rule is that CMS indicates that it will initiate a hospice Technical Expert Panel (TEP) during CY 2022 to help provide input on the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) enacted as part of the hospice survey reforms included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. CMS further indicates it will include a proposal implementing the Hospice SFP in the FY 2024 Hospice rulemaking proposed rule.

Read a summary produced by NAHC by clicking here.