CMS Proposes SNF and Hospice Payment and Policy Adjustments for Fiscal Year 2018

May 5, 2017 | Aging Services Risk Management

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​Under a proposed rule to update payment rates, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects a 1% increase in aggregate payments to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), which amounts to $390 million, from fiscal year 2017, according to a CMS fact sheet published April 27, 2017. Under the SNF Quality Reporting Program, the proposed rule outlines four new functional status measures for pressure injuries. It also proposes to begin publicly reporting standardized patient assessment data in 2019, adding five required categories: functional status; cognitive function; special services, treatments, and interventions; medical conditions and comorbidities; and impairments. Under the SNF Value-based Purchasing Program, the proposed rule outlines scoring and operational updates that include a 2% reduction in Medicare payments to SNFs to fund the value-based incentive payments. CMS also proposes to revise the performance period for the End-Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Program to October 1, 2017, through March 31, 2018. Besides program-specific changes, CMS proposes technical revisions to clarify regulatory requirements for team composition for surveys conducted to investigate complaints.

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