The Fiscal Year 2025 Hospice Wage Index, Payment Rate Update and Quality Reporting Requirements final rule is under review at the Office of Management and Budget. This is the final level of review.
 
CMS is expected to release the final rule no later than the first few days of August. The 2024 final rule was released July 28 last year and the 2023 rule was released July 27 the prior year.
 
In March, CMS proposed a payment update percentage of 2.6%, an estimated increase of $705 million in payments compared to fiscal year 2024. That would bring the hospice aggregate cap to $34,364.85, up from the current cap of $33,494.01. Those rates tend to change slightly in the final rule due to new data.
 
The rule proposed the adoption of the HOPE data-collection tool beginning in October 2025, replacing the Hospice Item Set (HIS).
CMS also proposed adding two new process measures to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) in 2028:
  • Timely Reassessment of Pain Impact
  • Timely Reassessment of Non-Pain Symptom Impact
 And CMS proposed changes to the CAHPS Hospice Survey, beginning in October 2024, including:
  • The addition of a web-mail mode (email invitation to a web survey, with mail follow-up to non-responders)
  • A shortened and simplified survey
  • Modifications to survey administration protocols to include a prenotification letter and extended field period
  • The addition of a new, two-item Care Preferences measure
  • Revisions to the existing Hospice Team Communication measure and the existing Getting Hospice Care Training measure
  • The removal of three nursing home items and additional survey items impacted by other proposed changes in this rule.
Home Health Line subscribers can see more on the March proposed rule by clicking on the headlines below: