CMS Proposes New Rules to Improve Quality for PPS Hospitals – When Will the Rules Change for CAHs?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a proposed rule that includes several quality improvement proposals that support larger quality and safety efforts, including goals to decrease preventable complications during patient transitions and decrease readmission rates. The proposed rule would update payment policies for acute care hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), as well as hospitals paid under the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS). The provisions would also expand the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program with more focus on patient outcomes and experiences and establish the framework for a new quality reporting program that would apply to LTCH PPS hospitals. The proposed rule is available by clicking here. CMS is accepting comments about the proposed rule until June 20, 2011. For more information about how CRHC is focusing on these important trends through it’s own iCARE (Improving Communication and Readmission) Project, contact mm@coruralhealth.org.