Starting October 1, 2018, all Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Medicare Part A rates will be cut by 2 percent to fund an incentive payment pool.
At that time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will adjust payments and return some amount to providers based on how well they do in managing hospital readmissions by meeting or exceeding performance standards. This CMS effort, the SNF Value Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, links financial outcomes to quality performance.
Providers may think they don’t have to focus on the SNF VBP program yet as it does not affect payment until 2018. But CMS is currently collecting rehospitalization data that will be used to determine how much centers earn back.
This month, we are featuring Advance Directives: Making the Tough Choices, part five of a 10-part resource series designed by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to support members in reducing rehospitalizations.
Advance directives play a key role in reducing hospitalizations that could do more harm than good, but reluctance on the part of providers, families, and residents to discuss them continues to be a roadblock to better end-of-life care.
Check out this resource here to learn more!
For more information about the SNF VBP program and to access additional resources and tools, visit the AHCA SNF VBP website here.
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