The FY 2023 Hospice Payment Rate Update Final Rule has cleared one of the final regulatory hurdles at the Office of Management and Budget and should be released sometime this week, possibly as soon as Tuesday afternoon.
 
Released, March 30, the proposed rule included:  
  • A permanent cap on negative wage index changes at 5%.
  • A 2.7%, or $580 million increase in payments for FY 2023, which begins Oct. 1, 2022.
  • A statutory aggregate cap per patient at $31,142.65.
Comments this spring on the proposed rule included calls from the industry for a cap that was less than 5%.
 
“By keeping the cap at this level, the cap is only protecting the most extreme adjustments without providing appropriate protection for hospices affected by more likely, but still substantial, adjustments,” stated The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in its comment to CMS.
 
There were also calls for a larger rate increase, which would also increase the per patient cap. It’s possible that the 2.7% announced in March could increase in the final rule, but likely not enough to address two big issues for the industry: inflationary pressure and the 2% cut in payments due to sequestration.