Average reductions will vary from state to state
Know how your county will be affected beforehand
Although the proposed wage index reductions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will vary from county to county and state to state, hospice experts agree that all hospices will be affected.
Indiana will see an average reduction of 6.27%, New York will see an average reduction of 6.15%, and California will see an average reduction of 3.44%, points out Judi Lund Person, MPH, vice president for regulatory affairs and state relations for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. (Editor's note: To see a copy of the proposed rule with wage index rates for FY 2009, go to edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/08-1198.htm.)
Alaska actually sees a 5% increase, but increases are rare, she points out. The wage index is set county by county, with urban areas generally receiving a higher level of reimbursement and rural counties receiving less, Lund Person explains. "Of the 3,001 counties identified in the CMS database, 93.2% will receive a 1% or higher reduction," she says. About 5% will see no change in their wage index, Lund Person reports.
Need More Information?
For more information about the proposed wage index reduction, contact:
- Renee Hahn, Chief Financial Officer, Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market St., Wichita, KS 67202. Telephone (800) 767-4965 or (316) 265-9441 or e-mail: [email protected].
- Anne Hochsprung, Vice President of Finance, The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760. Telephone: (727) 586-4432. E-mail: [email protected].
- Jonathan Keyserling, JD, Vice President of Public Policy, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 1700 Diagonal Road, Suite 625, Alexandria, VA 22314. Telephone: (703) 837-1500. Fax: (703) 837-1233. E-mail: [email protected].
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