Dive Brief:
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday proposed a 1.4% rate increase for skilled nursing facilities in 2016. The payment hike would add up to an overall $500 million increase from fiscal year 2015, the agency said.
- The 1.4% is derived from the market basket increase of 2.6% (the costs of goods and services need to render skilled nursing care, adjusted for inflation), after certain routine adjustments have been applied.
- The increase matches the 1.4% hike the agency mandated in 2014, but is a drop from the $750-million boost that skilled nursing facilities received in 2015.
Dive Insight:
2016 will also be the advent of the SNF Quality Reporting Program, under which SNFs that don't submit quarterly quality data to the agency could see a 2% reduction in payments. The agency revealed a few more details about the program following the rate announcements, including the three domain measures the program will address: skin integrity and changes in skin integrity; incidence of major falls; and functional status, cognitive function, and changes in function and cognitive function.
The agency has also proposed the creation of a value-based purchasing program for SNFs, tying some portion of payments to SNFs' 30-day all-cause hospital readmission measure. The agency is asking for comments now.