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News You Can Use: Psych and Rehab Units Are in CAHs' Future

CMS pledges its support for new inpatient units


Critical access hospitals have the green light to establish psychiatric and rehabilitation units, thanks to reform bill provisions now going into effect.
 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on April 23 that CAHs will now be allowed to set aside units of up to 10 beds each to be used for inpatient rehabilitation and psychiatric services.

These units do not count toward the 25-bed maximum, and will be reimbursed by Medicare based on the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system as if they were separate parts of acute care hospitals. The new units will likewise be held to operating standards of units in acute care hospitals.

"We believe critical access hospitals have an important role to play in making it possible for patients to receive inpatient rehabilitation and psychiatric services in their communities," said CMS Administrator Mark McClellan.   "This new assistance from the Medicare law is especially important for elderly beneficiaries in rural areas, whose support network of family and friends might otherwise find it difficult to visit."

Lesson Learned: CAHs can now expect federal assistance for psych and rehab units.
 

HIGHER PAY ON THE WAY FOR RECLASSIFIED HOSPITALS. Good news for hospitals.

 Retroactive to patient discharges on or after April 1, more than 120 hospitals will see an increase in Medicare payments, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Those slated for an increase were chosen by CMS from nearly 550 hospitals that took advantage of a one-time appeal process set up under the reform bill for facilities to get reclassified into adjoining geographic areas with higher payment rates.

Congress earmarked $900 million in assistance over the next three years, in part to help hospitals attract quality healthcare workers.

"We are pleased to be able to meet the tight timetable established in the MMA to get financial relief to these hospitals as rapidly as possible," CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said in an April 19 press release.

Hospitals that have been reclassified will be posted on .

Lesson Learned: Hospitals just outside of Medicare's reclassification criteria will soon receive word from CMS on their appeal status.
 

GOOD RECORDKEEPING COULD BE YOUR ACE IN THE HOLE. How diligent is your facility in maintaining patient service and transaction records? Those little details could save you big in an audit of your disproportionate share hospital payments.

Case in point: Even though their DSH allotments were correctly calculated and eligibility requirements met, two Ohio providers were still flagged for overpayments because of transaction details they omitted on their Medicaid uncompensated care cost reports. In a March 12 audit by the HHS Office of Inspect General, St. Vincent Charity and St. Luke's Medical Center slammed into [...]

- Published on 2004-05-17