Peace Garden News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) led 34 of their Senate colleagues on a bipartisan letter requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to modify the proposed payment update in the final inpatient prospective payment system rule through the use of special exceptions and adjustments authority.  

“We write today to express our concern regarding the proposed payment updates included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2024,” wrote the senators. “We are concerned that the proposed payment updates do not fully account for the current cost of care and will result in an overall payment reduction for hospitals in FY2024.”

“Conditions like the ones currently facing hospitals require a heightened review of payment policy. We respectfully request that CMS consider using its special exceptions and adjustments authority to make a retrospective adjustment to account for the difference between the market basket update that was implemented for FY 2022 and what the market basket actually is for FY 2022,” added the senators. “These important changes will ensure Medicare payments for acute care services more accurately reflect the cost of providing hospital care today and for the coming year. On behalf of our hospitals and health systems nationwide, we appreciate your attention to these concerns.”

In the FY2024 proposed rule, CMS relies on historical data which fails to predict the impact of the current elevated cost of providing care and the increased growth in expenses due to labor and supply chain costs. The letter also states the productivity update included in the proposed rule assumes hospitals can replicate the general economy’s productivity gains, while hospitals and health systems struggle with productivity declines.

This effort is also supported by the American Hospital Association.

“The American Hospital Association (AHA) thanks Senators Menendez and Cramer for leading this important bipartisan effort urging CMS to ensure hospitals and health systems have the resources they need to continue delivering high-quality care to their patients and communities,” said Lisa Kidder Hrobsky, AHA Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Political Affairs. “This support is more needed than ever as the hospital field continues to confront rising inflation, workforce shortages and surging costs for supplies and drugs.”

Joining Senators Cramer and Menendez are Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Boozman (R-AR), Chris Coons (D-DE), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Katie Britt (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), James Lankford (R-OK), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Hoeven (R-ND), James Risch (R-ID), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Click here to read the letter.

Original source can be found here.