MHA Today | May 24, 2023

Staff Contact: Sarah Willson

DHSS published an emergency rule revising the unlicensed assistive personnel regulation. The rule extends the timeframe for completion of training and recognizes individuals who have successfully completed patient care technician training as having met the UAP training requirements. The emergency rule is in effect beginning Tuesday, June 6, and will expire Dec. 2, 2023. An emergency amendment and proposed rule will be published in the Saturday, June 3, Missouri Register.

Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

MHA released a summary and analysis of the FFY 2024 Medicare proposed LTCH PPS payment and policy updates for authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®. Hospitals have until Friday, June 9, to review their hospital-specific data and submit comments to CMS. The analysis includes financial effects of market basket updates, market basket reductions mandated by the ACA, budget neutrality adjustments, wage index updates, MS-LTC-DRG updates and effects of the site-neutral payment reductions. Results are illustrated in national, Missouri, health system and individual hospital groupings. In aggregate, the state will see an estimated increase of 2.3% for services paid under the LTCH PPS. Although footnoted, the effects of the Medicare sequestration are not included.

Now available to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^® is a summary and comprehensive analysis of the proposed updates to the Medicare SNF PPS for FFY 2024. The analysis compares estimates for FFYs 2023 and 2024, which includes updates to the market basket, productivity reductions mandated by the ACA, wage index and SNF Value-Based Purchasing program. The analysis does not include effects caused by high-cost outliers, payments for managed care patients, or any modification in fee-for-service payments as a result of hospital participation in new payment models being tested under Medicare demonstration or pilot programs. The analysis also does not include the effects of the 2% Medicare sequestration. Comments about the proposed rule must be submitted by Monday, June 5.