This compares to last year’s final rate of 3.2%.
Skilled nursing facilities get a 2.4% payment increase for 2027, in a proposed rule released last week.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposes to update the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System SNF PPS rates by 2.4% based on a market basket of 3.2%, and a negative 0.8% productivity adjustment.
SNFs that do not meet reporting requirements are subject to a two-percentage point reduction in their Annual Payment Update.
Last August, skilled nursing facilities received a 3.2% increase in a final rule.
The 2027 figures do not incorporate value-based reductions for certain SNFs subject to the net reduction in payments under the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program, CMS said.
The SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program is a pay-for-performance program in which CMS withholds 2% of SNFs’ Medicare fee-for-service Part A payments to fund the program. CMS is then required to redistribute between 50% and 70% of this withhold to SNFs as incentive payments depending on their performance.
For 2027, CMS is proposing the removal of two COVID-19 measures, revising the data submission deadline and requiring the submission of Minimum Data Set data on all SNF residents, regardless of payer. CMS is also seeking feedback on two Requests for Information.
Beginning in 2028, CMS proposed to remove the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel measure and the COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date measure.
CMS is also proposing to revise the timeframe for data submission from 4.5 months to no later than the 15th day of the second month after the end of the calendar quarter beginning in 2029. This shortened data submission timeframe would reduce the lag in public reporting by up to three months, CMS said.
CMS is seeking feedback on a potential measure, the Advanced Care Planning (ACP). ACP is a continuous process of conversation and documentation to align a patient’s care and interventions with their beliefs, values and preferences, in the event they become unable to make those decisions.
CMS is also seeking comment on updating the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) payment system to address Case Mix Upcoding. This is a broader effort to ensure that payment policy reflects current care practices and changes in the SNF resident population. The RFI also focuses on how CMS could address observed Case Mix Upcoding.