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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Long-term care

Oct 3, 2024 - Notice of interim final action with comment period from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revising Medicare wage index values for fiscal year (FY) 2025, establishes a transitional payment exception for low-wage hospitals significantly impacted by those revisions, and makes conforming changes to the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) payment rates for FY 2025. These changes reflect the removal of the low wage index hospital policy following the appellate court decision in Bridgeport Hosp. v. Becerra. This rule also makes conforming changes to IPPS rates and factors used to determine certain payments under the long-term care hospital prospective payment system (LTCH PPS). This action is effective on September 30, 2024. Comments are due by November 29, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 2, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical and typographical corrections to the August 28, 2024, final rule. This correction is effective October 1, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 2, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical corrections to the August 6, 2024, final rule. This correction is effective October 1, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 30, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical and typographical corrections to the April 23, 2024, final rule. This correcting amendment is effective September 30, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 3, 2024 - Profiles a North Dakota farmer as he balances a need for long-term care with cost considerations and a desire to remain on the farm. Highlights struggles faced by many aging farm families, who may feel pressured to sell land and other assets in order to afford the high costs of long-term care. Notes the unpopularity of long-term care insurance and barriers to Medicaid enrollment for landowners.
Source: NPR
Aug 28, 2024 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revising the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals for fiscal year 2025. This rule also makes changes to Medicare graduate medical education (GME) for teaching hospitals and updates payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals. Among other things, this rule also finalizes the proposal of a separate IPPS payment for establishing and maintaining access to essential medicines; finalizes a new mandatory alternative payment model called the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), which will test whether financial accountability for selected episode categories reduces Medicare expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries; and finalizes the proposal requiring respiratory illness reporting for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) as a condition of participation following the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency requirements. With three exceptions, this final rule is effective October 1, 2024. Instruction 2 (§ 405.1845) is effective January 1, 2025. Instructions 29 and 31 (§ 482.42(e) and § 485.640(d)) are effective November 1, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 25, 2024 - Profiles the owner of an independent nursing home in rural Aroostook County, Maine. Describes how factors including reimbursement rates, staffing shortages, and changing regulations have led to decreases in profitability over the past decades, and contributed to numerous recent closures. Features a variety of expert perspectives on recent efforts by the Maine state government to update reimbursement rates and payment models.
Source: The Maine Monitor
Aug 22, 2024 - Discusses the impact of nursing home closures on social networks for rural Minnesota residents and their families. Discusses funding challenges and policy measures attempting to address workforce recruitment and retention issues driving the closures.
Source: MinnPost
Aug 20, 2024 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities; and 2) Financial Statement of Debtor. Comments are due by October 21, 2024.
Source: Federal Register