The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a proposed rule to update the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) prospective payment system for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for fiscal year (FY) 2027. Key provisions of the proposed rule include:
- Increasing the per diem federal rate by a net 2.3% after the market basket update, productivity adjustment and other adjustments. Facilities that fail to meet quality reporting requirements will be subject to a two-percentage-point reduction to the market basket update.
- Updating the labor-related share of the per diem rate from 71.9% to 72%.
- Continuing to use pre-reclassification and pre-floor hospital inpatient prospective payment system wage indexes while soliciting input on alternative data sources, such as Bureau of Labor Statistics data, for the wage index.
- Removing two measures focused on COVID-19 vaccination for patients and healthcare personnel
- Shortening the timeframe for quarterly submission of Minimum Data Set and National Healthcare Safety Network data from 4.5 months to 45 days, beginning with fiscal year 2029. For example, data for the quarter ending March 31, 2027, would be due to CMS by May 17, 2027.
- Requiring submission of Minimum Data Set data for all residents receiving skilled care, regardless of payer, for patients admitted on or after Oct. 1, 2029.
- Updating the dates used for calculating two value-based purchasing program measures: discharge function and falls with major injury.
- Requesting information on potential updates to the Patient-Driven Payment Model.
The MHA will provide facilities with a facility-specific impact analysis and additional details on the proposed rule in the coming weeks. Members are encouraged to submit comments to the CMS by June 1 and notify Vickie Kunz at the MHA of any issues identified by May 22.