Today, I would like to provide you with an update on some crucial Hospice-related matters with updated Hospice PEPPER Reports as well as the Hospice Proposed Rule 2024.
RECENTLY UPDATED HOSPICE PEPPER REPORTS
First, I want to inform you that as scheduled, the Hospice PEPPER reports were recently updated a couple of weeks ago. Along with this update, two new targets have been included in the Hospice PEPPER reports. While these targets were not surprising, they were unexpected at this point. The first target is the average number of Part B claims for a Hospice patient receiving care at home, and the second target is the average number of Part B claims per patient receiving Hospice care in a nursing facility or assisted living facility. It’s interesting to note that CMS continues to delve deeper into this data. In the past few years, they added the calculation for the average number of Part D claims while a patient is on Hospice. Now, they are focusing on Part B claims. In reality, CMS expects Hospice to provide comprehensive care for a patient, and there should be very little healthcare activity outside of the Hospice.
HOSPICE PROPOSED RULE
Apart from the update to the PEPPER report, we also received the Hospice Proposed Rule for the fiscal year 2024. The proposed rule includes rate adjustments, with a 2.8% increase in the Market Basket. However, most are concerned that this increase is too minimal when compared to the inflation rates that the country is experiencing. While the proposed rule doesn’t suggest many changes for 2024, it contains a significant amount of statistics related to Hospice and its various aspects of care.
CMS is requesting additional information in response to the Proposed Rule. One of the requests pertains to patients who are still receiving Part D and Part B claims while on the Hospice benefit. It is crucial that you provide your feedback on this proposed rule.
I wanted to ensure that you are informed of both the release of the Hospice Proposed Rule and the updated PEPPER reports. We will have additional Monday Minutes that will delve deeper into the Proposed Rule for Hospice, especially in the context of the comment period and Final Rule.
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