LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Late in the day on
Friday, April 27, the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) published proposed regulations for Medicare reimbursement for home
health services for 2008. CMS is seeking public comment and will consider
those comments along with other information prior to publishing final
regulations later this year.
The following is excerpted from the CMS press release announcing the
proposal which can be found in its entirety at the following web-site link:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp
"The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today proposed a rule
designed to ensure more appropriate payment for services provided by
Medicare home health agencies, while establishing incentives for more
efficient care for Medicare beneficiaries. This proposed rule contains
the first refinements to the Medicare home health prospective payment
system (HH PPS) since 2000 and also contains the annual update to the
Medicare HH PPS payment rates."
"The net impact of all of the proposed refinements and updates in the
HH PPS proposed rule is an estimated additional $140 million in payments
to home health agencies in CY 2008."
"The proposed home health prospective payment system for calendar year
2008 furthers Medicare's commitment toward making accurate payments in all
of its payment systems. For home health agencies, the proposed rule seeks
to improve the appropriateness and performance of care for Medicare
beneficiaries," said CMS Acting Administrator Leslie V. Norwalk."
The Company noted that the proposed regulations are extensive and it
will take some time for its staff to analyze them and estimate, if enacted
in their current form, the impact these changes would have on its home
health agencies.
Additionally, the Company noted the following with respect to the
proposed changes:
-- The changes are in proposed form and subject to additional changes
before being published in their final form
-- The proposed regulations are complex as indicated by the full 311
pages of the their text
-- The proposed regulations change the amounts Medicare would reimburse
providers on a patient by patient basis; thus estimation of the impact
on any given agency would be specific to that agency and for the time
period studied, and would be subject to change as the make up of that
agency's patient base changes.
Investors seeking more information on these proposed regulations are
referred to the proposed regulations posted by CMS at the following links:
-- A CMS Fact Sheet is posted at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp and provides a
side-by-side summary of proposed HH PPS refinements compared to the
current HH PPS payment system.
-- The full rule is posted at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthPPS/downloads/CMS-1541-P.pdf
Almost Family, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFAM) is a leading regional provider of
home health services. The Company has 74 service locations in Florida,
Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois and
Indiana.
SOURCE Almost Family, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.almost-family.com
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/784275.html/
CONTACT:
William Yarmuth or Steve Guenthner of Almost
Family, Inc., +1-502-891-1000
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