The FY2024 hospice final rule just posted to the Federal Register preview site. Below is the summary as stated in the rule. NAHC staff are currently reviewing the provisions and will provide a detailed review and analysis soon.
Summary: This final rule updates the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap
amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. This rule discusses the comments received regarding
information related to the provision of higher levels of hospice care; spending patterns for nonhospice services provided during the election of the hospice benefit; ownership transparency; equipping patients and caregivers with information to inform hospice selection; and ways to examine health equity under the hospice benefit. This rule also finalizes conforming regulations text changes related to the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. In addition, this rule updates to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program; discusses the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation tool; provides an update on Health Equity and future quality measures; and provides updates on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, Hospice Survey Mode Experiment. This rule also codifies hospice data submission thresholds and discusses updates to hospice survey and enforcement procedures. Additionally, the rule requires hospice certifying physicians to be Medicare-enrolled or to have validly opted-out.
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Katie Wehri
Director of Home Health & Hospice Regulatory Affairs
NAHC
Washington, DC
202-240-9254 #3360
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