MEDICARE NEWS

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    Contact: CMS Office of Media Affairs

July 31, 2009                                                                           (202) 690-6145

 

 

CMS ANNOUNCES POLICY AND PAYMENT RATE CHANGES FOR INPATIENT STAYS IN ACUTE CARE AND LONG-TERM CARE HOSPITALS IN FISCAL 2010

 

FINAL RULE WILL NOT REDUCE 2010 INPATIENT RATES FOR

ACUTE CARE HOSPITALS

 

 

            The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that acute care hospitals will receive an inflation update in their payment rates of 2.1 percent in fiscal year 2010.  Earlier this year, CMS had proposed to reduce payments to account for the effect of increases in aggregate payments due to changes in hospital coding practices that do not reflect increases in patient’s severity of illness. 

 

The update was included in a final rule making policy changes and setting payment rates for inpatient services in general acute care hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), as well as long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), paid under the LTCH PPS.  The changes will be effective beginning with discharges on or after Oct. 1, 2009. 

 

To read the entire CMS Press Release issued today (7/31) click here - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp

 

Additional CMS Fact Sheets issued today (7/31) click here- www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.

 

The final rule was placed on display at the Federal Register today (7/31) and can be found under Special Filings.

It will appear in the August 27, 2009 Federal Register.  www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/index.html.

 

Due to the size of this and other documents going on special filing this afternoon, there may be a several minute delay of this posting, so please be patient.

 

For more information, please see: www.cms.hhs.gov/AcuteInpatientPPS/01_overview.asp.