CMS Releases FY 2021 SNF Final Rule

On July 31, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 final rule titled “Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Value-Based Purchasing Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2021“.

Highlights of the final rule include the following:

• CMS projects that aggregate Medicare program payments to SNFs will increase by $750 million, or 2.2 percent, for FY 2021 compared to FY 2020.
• Changes to the ICD-10 code mappings, effective October 1, 2020 to classify SNF patients into payment groups.
• CMS is finalizing updates to the SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program regulation text at 42 CFR § 413.338 so that it reflects previously finalized policies.
• Updating the 30-day Phase One Review and Correction deadline for the baseline period quality measure quarterly report.
• CMS is also announcing performance periods and performance standards for the FY 2023 program year.

The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2020. To access a Fact Sheet on the FY 2021 Final Rule, click HERE. To access the complete final rule, click HERE.