Some patients can be safely discharged from skilled nursing facilities faster than they currently are, a new study has found.

And not just a day or two, either:  as much as a week or more.

The study focused on patients who had been in SNFs for about 20 days – the point at which Medicare beneficiaries begin shouldering a portion of the cost of their nursing care.  Discharging some of these patients a week early, the study found, did not affect rehospitalization by day 28 for 98 percent of the patients discharged around day 20.

The study, its authors assert, has implications for the home health industry, for the participation of SNFs in accountable care organizations and other shared savings models, for overall Medicare spending, and more.

Learn more about the study and its implications in the Health Affairs study “Outcomes After Shortened Skilled Nursing Facility Stays Suggest Potential For Improving Postacute Care Efficiency” and find a summary of the study in the McKnight’s Long-Term Care News article “Researchers find many nursing home stays far too long, warn providers to become more efficient.”…

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 29.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

The White House

COVID-19

• The White House has posted a transcript of the April 27 press briefing provided by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials.

Health Policy News

• Speaking before a joint session of Congress, President Biden on Wednesday night formally presented his proposed American Families Plan.  In general, the plan defers action on most health care matters to other, separate legislation, but it does call for $200 billion to permanently expand Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies and another $225 billion for paid medical leave.  The president also called on Congress to authorize the federal government to engage in some price negotiation for prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and urged the National Institutes of Health to establish a new agency devoted to developing breakthrough cancer cures.  Go here to see a summary of the American Families Plan.

Department of Health and Human Services

Health Policy News

• Earlier this week HHS announced the availability of $1 billion for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-Health Center Program

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 8.

Provider Relief Fund

• The Provider Relief Fund web page has been updated to announce a webinar next Tuesday, April 13 about the HRSA COVID-19 uninsured program under which participating providers are reimbursed at Medicare rates for testing, treating, and administering COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals.  Go here for further information (in the shaded box labeled “update”).

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

COVID-19

• CMS has added 24 new audiology and speech language pathology services to its list of telehealth services covered during the COVID-19 emergency.  Go here to find the updated list of telehealth services authorized during the pandemic.

Proposed Rules

• CMS has published its proposed FY 2022 skilled nursing facility prospective payment system rule.  Learn more about the proposed rule from this CMS fact sheet and from the proposed rule itself.
• CMS has published its proposed FY 2022 hospice wage index and payment update, hospice conditions of participation updates, and hospice and home health quality reporting program requirements.  Learn more the CMS fact sheet from this Federal Register notice.

Health Policy News

• CMS will hold a webinar

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. recently to discuss various Medicare payment issues.

Among the issues discussed at MedPAC’s January meeting were:

• hospital inpatient and outpatient payments
• physician and health professionals payments
• the possible expansion of the post-acute transfer policy to hospice
• ambulatory surgical center, outpatient dialysis, and hospice payments
• Medicare payments for skilled nursing facilities, long-term hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and home health services
• the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s development and implementation of alternative payment models
• the future of telehealth after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends
• a status report on the Medicare Part D prescription drug program
• a report on the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program and a proposed replacement for that program
• Medicare’s vaccine coverage and payment policies

MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare.  While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is highly influential in governing circles and its recommendations often find their way into legislation, regulations, and new public policy.  Because so many patients of private safety-net hospitals are insured by Medicare, MedPAC’s deliberations are especially important to those hospitals.

Go here for links to the policy …

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues.

MedPAC’s proposed Medicare 2021 payment recommendations dominated the December agenda, including:

• hospital inpatient and outpatient payments
• ambulatory surgical center payments
• physician and health professional payments
• hospice payments
• home health care payments
• inpatient rehabilitation facility payments
• long-term care hospital payments

In addition, MedPAC discussed Medicare’s policy for transfers between post-acute-care facilities and hospice and received a staff update on the Medicare Advantage program.

MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare.  While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is highly influential in governing circles and its recommendations often find their way into legislation, regulations, and new public policy.

Go here for links to the policy briefs and presentations that supported MedPAC’s discussion of these issues and for a transcript of the two days of meetings.…