CMS Proposed Rule for 2007 LTCH Payment

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a Proposed Rule, "Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System for Long-Term Care Hospitals RY 2007" setting out the payment levels for long-term care hospitals (LTCHs). The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on January 27, 2006. CMS will accept comments on the Proposed Rule until March 30, 2006.

The summary of the proposed rule states:
This proposed rule would update the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals (LTCHs). The proposed payment amounts and factors used to determine the updated Federal rates that are described in this proposed rule were determined based on the LTCH PPS rate year July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. The annual update of the long-term care diagnosis-related group (LTC-DRG) classifications and relative weights remains linked to the annual adjustments of the acute care hospital inpatient diagnosis-related group system, and would continue to be effective each October 1. The proposed outlier threshold for CMS-1485-P 2
July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, would also be derived from the LTCH PPS rate year calculations.