On October 3, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a correction to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 skilled nursing facility (SNF) final rule. There were a number of technical errors that are identified and corrected in the notice. In particular, errors that LeadingAge and others noted in Tables 6 and 7 that reflect case-mix adjusted rates on pages 39,170 through 39,172 of the FY 2019 SNF PPS final rule were corrected. Also, typographical errors were corrected as noted.
Relatedly, CMS has updated the wage index files as they noted two errors in the inpatient hospital prospective payment system wage index data. These are the base data for the SNF wage index. The SNF PPS Rate Calculator has been updated to incorporate the changes.
These changes are effective as of October 1. CMS notes the correcting document does not constitute a rule that would be subject to the notice and comment or delayed effective date requirements. It corrects technical errors in the FY 2019 SNF PPS final rule and in the tables referenced in the final rule but does not make substantive changes to the policies or payment methodologies that were adopted in the final rule. As a result, the correction notice is intended to ensure that the information in the FY 2019 SNF PPS final rule accurately reflects the policies adopted in that final rule. (LeadingAge)