Proposed FY 2023 SNF Rule: CMS Makes Good on Threat to Enact Cuts

CMS says it's because the PDPM payment system isn't working out as planned. Some of the pain will be softened by cost-index adjustments.

Public comment deadline: June 10

The big picture: The Patient-Driven Payment Model adopted for skilled nursing facilities in the fall of 2019 was supposed to cost about as much as the previous Resource Utilization Groups system, but so far, that hasn't been the case. CMS believes the only way to make things right is through a 4.6% reduction in PDPM payment, something it signaled it was considering in last year's SNF rule. However, the impact of the cuts could be somewhat offset by a proposed 3.9% "market basket" increase, meaning that SNFs would be facing something closer to a 0.7% decrease overall, according to the proposed rule.  FY 2023 begins Oct. 1, 2022, for the SNF Prospective Payment System.

APTA is reviewing the proposed rule to submit comments by the June 10 deadline, as well as to prepare for the proposed home health rule now in the works at CMS. Typically, the home health rule contains provisions that echo SNF rules.

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