In a surprise move, CMS announced that they will not be adopting any major reductions to SNF PDPM reimbursement rates. Instead, SNFs will receive a modest 1.2% increase in PDPM Rates when FY 2022 begins in October.
SNF providers had been bracing for a major reimbursement cut after the FY 2022 Proposed Rule was released in the Spring. CMS had released data stating that there was a significant increase in Medicare PPS spending under PDPM, calculated at 5% or $1.7 Billion. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been difficult to measure the true cause of the increase.
As for the specifics of the PDPM SLP Component, Language Fundamentals will be examining the corresponding rates for each region.
Although SNF industry groups are pleased with the news, it is likely that the issue of recalibrating PDPM reimbursement rates will rise again in the future.
In addition, the Final Rule also updates metrics used in the SNF Quality Reporting Program. SNFs that fail to meet the reporting requirements for any of the new metrics could see a 2% reduction in their annual update.
While SNFs nationally continue to rebuild low census, this bit of good news will provide a boost to struggling operators.
