Special Update
Rehab PPS delayed until 2001
[Editor’s note: The Health Care Financing Administration still had not published the proposed rule for the rehab prospective payment system (RPPS) by the time Rehab Continuum Report’s June issue went to press.]
Rehabilitation administrators waited in vain throughout the winter for news on the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS), and it wasn’t until near the end of March that the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) announced that the implementation of inpatient rehab PPS would be delayed until April 1, 2001.
The proposed rule already was delayed by more than four months, giving the rehab industry some cause for concern. As a result of the delays, the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA) in Washington, DC, wrote a letter to Nancy-Ann DeParle, HCFA administrator, expressing concern about the delays.
System shouldn’t be delayed
Here is an excerpt from the April 18, 2000, letter, signed by Ken Aitchison, AMRPA rehab PPS task force chair, and Mary Lou Coors, chair of the governing council of the section of long-term care and rehabilitation of the American Hospital Association in Washington, DC:
"Our members are very concerned about the delay in implementation and believe the system should not be delayed further than the deferred startup date of April 1, 2001. We are also very concerned about the anticipated cost of implementing the RPPS.
"We are most concerned, however, that the proposed rule be published as soon as possible, i.e., before May 1, 2000, and allow for a 90-day comment period. Facilities are very anxious about implementation of the new system and need to be aware of how it will work, and the directions HCFA is taking with the system. Because this system represents a significant change for our members a 90-day comment period will give us more time to educate our members to the RPPS.
"At the same time, HCFA would still enjoy over six months to review and respond to comments, as well as to make any other necessary changes to the system based on data collected from research studies currently underway and publish a final rule by December 1st."
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content