On July 2nd. CMS published itsMedicare Home Health Rate Rule and plans for 2020 payment reform. Here’s a synopsis of rate changes:
- The HHPPS episodic payment rate, after case mix and wage index adjustments, will increase by 2.1%.
- Per visits payments will also increase by 2.1%
- The rural add-on for 2019 will be 3% for all rural counties in New Hampshire, except Merrimack County.
- The rural add-on for Merrimack County will drop to 1.5% because CMS categorized it as a high-utilization rural county.
- The wage indices for NH will also change:
- Rural NH MSA will decrease from 1.0633 to 1.0359
- Strafford/Rockingham County MSA will increase from 0.9803 to 0.991
- The Manchester/Nashua MSA will decrease from 0.9928 to 0.9607
The agency also proposed a payment reform model for 2020 that includes a 30-day payment unit for 60-day episodes of care and elimination of therapy volume thresholds for payment amounts.
Click here to download the 600-page rule. The deadline for public comments is August 31st