Managing the hospice payment cap by balancing length of stay

Managing the hospice payment cap by balancing length of stay 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/15/24 
Careful management of the hospice aggregate cap is key to providers’ sustainability as regulatory scrutiny continues to heat up. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending and foster greater access to care among patients. For Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set the cap at $33,394. In 2025, this will rise to $34,465. “While the cap is a beneficiary driven cap, meaning the reimbursement allowed per Medicare beneficiary, it is not assessed at the beneficiary level, but rather in the aggregate at the agency provider number level for all beneficiaries served by the agency in the cap,” Rochelle Salinas, vice president of operations for CommonSpirit Health at Home, said. “This allows for greater flexibility in providing care to those in need.” ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]