CMS proposes increase in Medicare reimbursements for long-term care hospitals

CMS on Thursday proposed a 0.71% increase in standard Medicare reimbursement rates for long-term care hospitals for 2008, CQ HealthBeat reports.

In addition, CMS proposed to extend the "25% rule" -- which reduces Medicare reimbursements for LTCHs located within acute care hospitals that accept more than 25% of their patients from the host facilities -- to cover all LTCHs that accept more than 25% of their patients from one hospital.

In related news, lawmakers from both the House and Senate have introduced legislation (HR 562 and S 338) that would establish certification criteria for LTCHs. The House bill would establish a system to identify which severely ill patients LTCHs should accept and would define the percentage of patients at the hospitals who must meet the criteria, according to the Acute Long Term Hospital Association. The Senate bill would require the HHS secretary to identify which patients LTCHs should accept based on general medical conditions and severity of illness rather than diagnosis. The bills would reduce Medicare reimbursements for LTCHs by $1 billion to $2 billion over five years, according to William Walters, CEO of the Acute Long Term Hospital Association. Edward Kalman, general counsel for the National Association of Long Term Hospitals, said that the group is "closely studying" the legislation and "will have something to say about it in the future" (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 1/26).