CMS-1434-N

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice to update the Medicare Hospice Wage Index for fiscal year (FY) 2013.  This notice also provides clarification on additional diagnoses reporting on hospice claims and updates on hospice payment reform and hospice quality reporting. Hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries will see an estimated 0.9 percent increase in their payments for FY 2013. The hospice payment increase is the net result of a 1.6 percent increase in the “hospital market basket” update, which is offset by a 0.7 percent decrease in payments to hospices due to updated wage index data and the fourth year of CMS’ 7-year phase-out of its wage index budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF).