CMS wants to cut skilled-nursing spending

CMS says it is proposing to cut about $770 million in overall payments to skilled-nursing facilities in fiscal 2009, though it also plans to help the industry with an inflationary update to absorb some of the difference. The change is one of several planned by the agency to address what it sees as industry upcoding.

All told, CMS wants to cut 3.3 percent in overall payments, but the update will amount to about 3.1 percent. The remaining gap is about $60 million net loss between this year and next. Under the new payment rule, CMS would change case-mix weighting to better align its reimbursement structure with the "right" procedures. It may also toss pay-for-performance initiatives and other quality incentives into the mix.

To learn more about the CMS proposal:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

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