Hospice providers will see a pay bump of 2.9%, or $790 million, next fiscal year, a significant improvement from the proposed $705 million boost though providers are still concerned itâs not enough to keep up with inflating costs.
âGood hospice care is a holistic, patient- and family-centered, compassionate approach to the dying–and it can be a godsend,â LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan said in a statement. âWe recognize that a 2.9% is an increase, but given the challenges our mission driven and nonprofit members continue to navigate, particularly a very competitive labor market especially for registered nurses, the final rule falls short of the need.â
LeadingAge was also disappointed that CMS didnât delay its changes to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey so there could be more time to develop the web-mode of delivery.
CMS announced Tuesday (July 30) the final hospice pay rule, finalizing an increase thatâs similar to the 3.1% bump totaling $780 million that the industry received for 2024. The hospice aggregate cap on payments, which limits overall annual payments per patient made to a hospice provider, is also continuing to tick up. The cap under the fiscal 2025 pay rule increased by about $970.
The Biden administration said it upped its overall pay hike for 2025 after reviewing the productivity adjustment for the second quarter of 2024. CMS says its final amount is adequate since the Medicare Payment Advisory Commissionâs analysis found hospice providersâ returns have been in the green — the 2021 fee-for-service Medicare marginal profit was about 17% — and they recommended the administration forgo an increase for fiscal 2025.
The rule also finalized adoption of the most recent White House Office of Management and Budget statistical area delineation. While one provider in Maryland disagreed with the decision, CMS didnât change its proposal, but it reminded providers that those affected by a change in their geographic wage index can apply a 5% cap on any decrease to the wage index from the prior year.
Two new process measures were finalized for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program: Timely Follow-up for Pain Impact and Timely Follow-up for Non-Pain Symptom Impact. They will begin fiscal 2028 through the new Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation tool.
The HOPE patient-level data collection tool will functionally replace the existing Hospice Item Set (HIS) structure next year, CMS says. Guidance on the new system will be released in the coming weeks.
âHOPE will collect data at multiple time points across the hospice stay, including admission, the HOPE Update Visit (HUV), and discharge,â CMSâ fact sheet says. âCompared to the HIS (which only collects data at hospice admission and discharge), HOPE will enable CMS to gather patient-level data during their hospice stay to improve patient quality of care.â
HOPE will include several domains, CMS says, including sociodemographic, diagnoses, symptom impact assessment, skin conditions and imminent death.
The fiscal 2025 hospice wage index final rule is the first of four pay rules CMS is expected to finalize this week. The White House Office of Management and Budget released the pay rules for skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and inpatient psychiatric facilities last week and cleared the inpatient and long-term care hospital pay rule late Monday (July 29).
CMS Finalizes 2.9% Pay Bump For Hospice Providers In 2025
Inside Health
July 31, 2024 1:04 pm
Hospice providers will see a pay bump of 2.9%, or $790 million, next fiscal year, a significant improvement from the proposed $705 million boost though providers are still concerned itâs not enough to keep up with inflating costs.
âGood hospice care is a holistic, patient- and family-centered, compassionate approach to the dying–and it can be a godsend,â LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan said in a statement. âWe recognize that a 2.9% is an increase, but given the challenges our mission driven and nonprofit members continue to navigate, particularly a very competitive labor market especially for registered nurses, the final rule falls short of the need.â
LeadingAge was also disappointed that CMS didnât delay its changes to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey so there could be more time to develop the web-mode of delivery.
CMS announced Tuesday (July 30) the final hospice pay rule, finalizing an increase thatâs similar to the 3.1% bump totaling $780 million that the industry received for 2024. The hospice aggregate cap on payments, which limits overall annual payments per patient made to a hospice provider, is also continuing to tick up. The cap under the fiscal 2025 pay rule increased by about $970.
The Biden administration said it upped its overall pay hike for 2025 after reviewing the productivity adjustment for the second quarter of 2024. CMS says its final amount is adequate since the Medicare Payment Advisory Commissionâs analysis found hospice providersâ returns have been in the green — the 2021 fee-for-service Medicare marginal profit was about 17% — and they recommended the administration forgo an increase for fiscal 2025.
The rule also finalized adoption of the most recent White House Office of Management and Budget statistical area delineation. While one provider in Maryland disagreed with the decision, CMS didnât change its proposal, but it reminded providers that those affected by a change in their geographic wage index can apply a 5% cap on any decrease to the wage index from the prior year.
Two new process measures were finalized for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program: Timely Follow-up for Pain Impact and Timely Follow-up for Non-Pain Symptom Impact. They will begin fiscal 2028 through the new Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation tool.
The HOPE patient-level data collection tool will functionally replace the existing Hospice Item Set (HIS) structure next year, CMS says. Guidance on the new system will be released in the coming weeks.
âHOPE will collect data at multiple time points across the hospice stay, including admission, the HOPE Update Visit (HUV), and discharge,â CMSâ fact sheet says. âCompared to the HIS (which only collects data at hospice admission and discharge), HOPE will enable CMS to gather patient-level data during their hospice stay to improve patient quality of care.â
HOPE will include several domains, CMS says, including sociodemographic, diagnoses, symptom impact assessment, skin conditions and imminent death.
The fiscal 2025 hospice wage index final rule is the first of four pay rules CMS is expected to finalize this week. The White House Office of Management and Budget released the pay rules for skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and inpatient psychiatric facilities last week and cleared the inpatient and long-term care hospital pay rule late Monday (July 29).