On Tuesday of this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities under the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2024. In addition, the proposed rule includes proposals for the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program for FY 2024 and future years. Finally, this proposed rule would eliminate the requirement for facilities to actively waive their right to a hearing in writing and instead treat the failure to submit a timely hearing request as a constructive waiver.
Notably absent from the rule is a proposal to enact staffing ratios / requirements for nursing facilities, which the Biden Administration had promised as part of its February 2022 announcement regarding improving nursing facility quality and safety. A fact sheet discussing the major provisions of the proposed rule can be found by clicking here.