AHA urges similar changes to proposed LTCH provisions

In a separate letter commenting on the proposed rule’s long-term care hospital PPS provisions, AHA similarly urged the agency to adjust the market basket update to account for the unprecedented inflationary environment hospitals and health systems are experiencing; eliminate the productivity cut; and consider additional temporary changes to help mitigate the dramatic increase in the high-cost outlier threshold.  

“We are concerned that CMS is proposing policies and payment adjustment that do not take into account the current the COVID-19 public health emergency and its atypical market forces and pandemic-driven aberrations affecting the utilization and cost of providing LTCH services,” AHA wrote.