CMS1198849

Corrections to Tables in CMS-1541-P and upcoming OASIS PRA Package: We have identified minor technical errors in Tables 4, 5, and 12a.. A Correction Notice will be published in the Federal Register as soon as possible. Following are links to corrected versions for Tables 4, 5, & 12a: [Revised_Table4.pdf], [Revised_Table5.pdf], and [Revised_Table12a.pdf]. The Regression Coefficients column in Table 4 and the Average Cost Column in Table 5 have been corrected. We are also revising Table 12a to include the final set of variables and scores into the table. Finally, the OASIS PRA package which is referenced in CMS-1541-P was put on display on 4/27/07 and will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, May 4^th.

This rule includes a number of refinement proposals that will update the case-mix model to better reflect the current mix of home health patients, better reflect resources associated with certain type of episodes, and adjust for case mix creep. In addition, this rule proposes routine annual updates to the market basket, the fixed dollar loss ratio, and pay for reporting requirements. This update reflects the proposed home health market basket of 2.9 percent for Medicare payment rates for calendar year 2008 as well as a 2.75% reduction in the rates to account for nominal change in case-mix. The overall impact of the proposed refinements of this rule is estimated to increase total payments to home health agencies by approximately $140 million in CY 2008.