Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities for FY 2015
medicare · Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services · Rule · Published 2014-08-05 · Effective 2014-10-01 · 79 FR 45628
Document
Document number
2014-18335
Federal Register citation
79 FR 45628
CFR reference
42 CFR 488
Type
Rule
Action
Final rule.
Category
medicare
Sub-agency
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Publication date
2014-08-05
Effective date
2014-10-01
HHS docket
CMS-1605-F
Abstract
This final rule updates the payment rates used under the prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for fiscal year (FY) 2015. In addition, it adopts the most recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) statistical area delineations to identify a facility's urban or rural status for the purpose of determining which set of rate tables will apply to the facility, and to determine the SNF PPS wage index including a 1-year transition with a blended wage index for all providers for FY 2015. This final rule also contains a revision to policies related to the Change of Therapy (COT) Other Medicare Required Assessment (OMRA). This final rule includes a discussion of a provision related to the Affordable Care Act involving Civil Money Penalties. Finally, this final rule discusses the SNF therapy payment research currently underway within CMS, observed trends related to therapy utilization among SNF providers, and the agency's commitment to accelerating health information exchange in SNFs.