Average reductions will vary from state to state
Average reductions will vary from state to state
Know how your county will be affected beforehand
Although the proposed wage index reductions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will vary from county to county and state to state, hospice experts agree that all hospices will be affected.
Indiana will see an average reduction of 6.27%, New York will see an average reduction of 6.15%, and California will see an average reduction of 3.44%, points out Judi Lund Person, MPH, vice president for regulatory affairs and state relations for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. (Editor's note: To see a copy of the proposed rule with wage index rates for FY 2009, go to edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/08-1198.htm.)
Alaska actually sees a 5% increase, but increases are rare, she points out. The wage index is set county by county, with urban areas generally receiving a higher level of reimbursement and rural counties receiving less, Lund Person explains. "Of the 3,001 counties identified in the CMS database, 93.2% will receive a 1% or higher reduction," she says. About 5% will see no change in their wage index, Lund Person reports.
Need More Information?
For more information about the proposed wage index reduction, contact:
- Renee Hahn, Chief Financial Officer, Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market St., Wichita, KS 67202. Telephone (800) 767-4965 or (316) 265-9441 or e-mail: [email protected].
- Anne Hochsprung, Vice President of Finance, The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760. Telephone: (727) 586-4432. E-mail: [email protected].
- Jonathan Keyserling, JD, Vice President of Public Policy, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 1700 Diagonal Road, Suite 625, Alexandria, VA 22314. Telephone: (703) 837-1500. Fax: (703) 837-1233. E-mail: [email protected].
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