2019 Proposed Rules Inpatient Rehab

An Analysis and Commentary on Federal Health Care Issues by Larry Goldberg

CMS Issues Proposed Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility FY 2019 PPS Update

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have published a proposed rule to update the payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2019.

The 147-page document is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on May 8th. A copy is currently available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2018- 08961.pdf. This link will change upon publication. A comment period is provided that expires June 26th.

CMS says that “the overall economic impact of this final rule is an estimated increase in payments to IRFs in FY 2019, relative to FY 2018, of approximately $75 million. There are 1,120 IRFs, of which approximately 55 percent are nonprofit facilities.

CMS spends a dozen pages repeating the history and development of the IRF PPS, nearly 10 percent of the proposal, itself.

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