The correction notice to the FY 2025 Hospice final rule is forthcoming. However, given that the corrected wage index will be effective October 1, 2024, in the interest of time, we believe it is best to post the updated wage index file for stakeholders to utilize. The wage index file has been updated on the FY 2025 Hospice final rule page located at: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-service-providers/hospice/hospice-regulations-and-notices/cms-1810-f and the FY 2025 Hospice Wage Index webpage located at: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-service-providers/hospice/hospice-wage-index/fy-2025-final-hospice-wage-index.
Please continue to check the Hospice Center webpage as we will update there once the correction notice has been issued.
The final rule went on display at the Office of the Federal Register’s Public Inspection Desk on July 30, 2024 and will be available until the regulation is published on August 6, 2024. See CMS-1810-F in the “Related Links” section below.
Starting October 1, 2024, hospices that provide services in certain counties must use a transition code (500XX codes) on hospice claims instead of the rural area or CBSA code in circumstances where a county was redesignated into a new CBSA or rural area and has a different wage index than the constituent counties that make up that CBSA or rural area due to the 5-percent cap on wage index decreases policy. Table 8 of the FY 2025 Hospice final rule (89 FR 64221) lists these counties that will require a transition code beginning in FY 2025. However, FIPS 09150 Northeastern Connecticut planning region was inadvertently left off the list. We are in the process of issuing a correction notice in the federal register to update Table 8 with the correct transition code for the Northeastern Connecticut planning region. Please check the Hospice Center webpage as we will update here once the correction notice has been issued.