August 4, 2008
Medicare Hospices to See Increase
In 2009 Wage Index, CMS Announces:Hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries will see a 2.5 percent increase in their payments for 2009 according to a final regulation published today by CMS.
The increase in the hospice wage index is the net result of a 3.6 percent increase in the so-called "market basket" indicator of cost, offset by a 1.1 percent decrease in payments to hospices as CMS phases out a transitional payment to these providers.
To view a copy of the entire fact sheet, please visit www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp
For more information, please visit the following website resources:
- CMS Hospice webpage at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/center/hospice.asp.
- The copy of the final regulation is available at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Hospice/RegsNotices/list.asp#TopOfPage
