Some nursing facility rates climb by 20%
September 1, 2000 less than 1 minute read
Some nursing facility rates climb by 20%
More increases scheduled
On July 31, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) published a final rule raising reimbursement rates for patients in 15 selected resource utilization group (RUG) payment groups by 20% effective Oct. 1.
Speculation had been HCFA would revise the RUG payment system to create additional payment groups for patients with complex medical needs. However, the agency said further research did not justify the proposed refinements.
By law, Medicare will also increase the federal pay rate for all RUGs 4% in fiscal 2001 and 2002 — plus another 2% to the skilled nursing facility (SNF) federal and facility-specific rates FY 2001 to adjust for inflation.
As a result of those rate changes, nationwide reimbursement for SNF services is projected to reach $17.5 billion in FY 2001, up from $13.4 billion in FY 2000.
Even with those added payments, many SNF’s still don’t feel they are being adequately reimbursed for medically complex patients and the size of the caseloads they carry.
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