CMS proposes decreasing wage index for high-wage hospitals

The CMS is proposing to increase the wage index of low-wage hospitals to address a disparity in the system. High-wage hospitals would be on the losing end of this change.

The agency late Tuesday released its annual proposed update for the hospital inpatient prospective payment system for federal fiscal 2020 that starts in October.

The agency called for low-wage hospitals that have a wage index value below the 25th percentile to get an increase that is “half the difference between the otherwise applicable wage index value for that hospital and the 25th percentile wage index value across all hospitals.”

The proposal would go into effect for at least four years starting this October. The CMS also proposed to decrease the wage index for hospitals above the 75th percentile so “Medicare spending does not increase as a result of this proposal.”

The agency also proposed a new add-on payment in cases where providers use high-cost technology, such as antimicrobial therapies.

https://www.modernhealthcare.com/government/cms-proposes-decreasing-wage-index-high-wage-hospitals