On March 31, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2023 proposed rule for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities. The proposed rule was published on April 6, 2022 and CMS is accepting comments on the proposed rule until 5:00pm on May 31, 2022. To access the proposed rule, click

On April 7, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) proposed rule. Comments will be accepted on the proposed rule until 5:00pm on June 7, 2021. The proposed rule is schedule to be published in the Federal Register on April 12, 2021. Highlights of the proposed rule include the following: CMS is proposing to update the IRF PPS payment rates by 2.2% For the Quality Reporting Program, CMS is proposing to add 1 measure and update the specifications for another measure CMS is proposing the adoption of the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage among

I am often asked if the time a student treats a Medicare patient for physical, occupational and/or speech therapy services, is that time billable to the Medicare program? In this article, I will answer this question as it applies to inpatient acute care, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities providing Part A therapy services and outpatient therapy settings. QuestionIn the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) setting, do the minutes of therapy provided by the student therapist count towards the required 3-hours of therapy at least 5 days per week? Answer QuestionIn the inpatient hospital acute care setting, can therapy students treat

On August 4, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Final Rule for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs). Highlights of the final rule include: Permanent elimination of the post-admission physician evaluation effective October 1, 2020 CMS is finalizing that a non-physician practitioner (NPP) may perform one of the three required visits in lieu of the physician in the second and later weeks of a patient’s care, when consistent with the NPP’s state scope of practice Overall IRF payment update for FY 2021 of 2.8% To access the Final Rule, click HERE. To access

On April 16, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Fiscal year (FY) 2021 proposed rule for facilities under the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS). Highlights of the proposed rule include the following: In the FY 2021 IRF PPS proposed rule, CMS is proposing to allow non-physician practitioners to perform any of the IRF coverage service and documentation duties that are currently required to be performed by a rehabilitation physician, provided that the duties are within the non-physician practitioner’s scope of practice under applicable state law CMS is proposing to no longer require

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. Per CMS, “the data contained within the Preview Reports is based on quality data submitted by IRFs between Quarter 2 – 2018 and Quarter 1 – 2019 and reflects what will be published on IRF Compare during the December 2019 refresh of the website”. Providers will have until October 11, 2019 to review their data and can request CMS review of their data during the preview period if they believe the quality measure scores

Due to a recent report by the Office of the Inspector General that found payments for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) services did not comply with Medicare billing requirements, CMS developed the IRF Prospective Payment System booklet as well as additional resources in assisting IRFs become more compliant with IRF billing. To access these resources, click HERE.

On July 31, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs). CMS projects that FY 2020 payments to IRF’s will increase by 2.5% compared to FY 2019. In the final rule, highlights of issues addressed by CMS include: Case-Mix Group Revisions (using FY 2017 and FY 2018 data) Rebase and Revise the IRF Market Basket Clarification of “Rehabilitation Physician” Ensuring Quality IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) To read a Fact Sheet of the final rule, click HERE. To access the Final Rule, click HERE. I