In early February 2018, President Trump signed a two-year budget deal that ended a second, brief government shutdown within the first two months of the year. In that massive two-year budget deal was a win for millions of Medicare beneficiaries — the repeal of permanent caps on various forms of therapy under Medicare Part B….
Is RCS-1 keeping you up at night? It’s a question we explored in a recent survey, and therapy providers responded with mixed results. Almost half (48%) said they haven’t started preparing for RCS-1 and are waiting to hear from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before doing so. If CMS goes forward with…
The post-acute care industry has had a lot of news to contend with since the start of the year, including newly proposed budgets and bills. We’ve summarized a few of the top stories to keep you of abreast of the changes. President Trump Unveils Budget, and Cuts Affect Post-Acute Services On Feb. 12, President Trump…
What’s a therapy provider to do when it is faced with a changing reimbursement landscape, and is plagued with challenges that hamper productivity? It turns to business intelligence tools, of course. Such was the case for Portland, Oregon-based Consonus Healthcare, a provider of consulting, rehabilitation, pharmacy and post-acute care in more than 80 rehab contracts…
In 2018, skilled nursing facilities will continue to be impacted by outcomes data, both from a regulatory and a business standpoint. Measuring and reporting on outcomes is important because it will enable healthcare organizations to lower costs, improve the patient experience and provide better care. Much of this movement is being driven by the Centers…
RCS-1 is a complete rewrite of therapy reimbursement rules, and will require therapy providers to make significant operational changes in order to maintain healthy businesses. While the RCS-1 language is still in draft form as a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has indicated that it plans to implement…
The uncertainty hovering over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) has been cleared—at least for the time being. CMS issued is final rule for the home health care prospective payment system (PPS) 2018 update in early November without finalizing HHGM. “CMS is not finalizing the implementation of the…
How will a hospice or long-term care facility respond in the event that its city is evacuated due to hurricane warnings? Where will patients receive the care they need? How will family members be notified of any necessary move? As many of us recover from recent hurricanes, the damage these natural disasters have caused is…
How do consumers find the quality of hospice care that best suits their needs? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) answered this question by unveiling its hospice comparison site, Hospice Compare. Hospice providers should take careful note of how they are rated on the website. The Hospice Compare website is designed to help…
With Resident Classification System, Version I (RCS-1), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing significant changes to the current reimbursement model for therapy services, now under the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) system. In fact, as it’s currently written, RCS-1 is a complete rewrite of the payment rules SNFs have been subject to…