CMS proposes pay raise for hospices

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed raising payments to hospice providers by 1.3 percent next year.

The regulation, released Friday afternoon, followed a long series of payment rules released this week.

Regulators announced rate increases for acute-care and long-term care hospitals, as well as skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation and inpatient psychiatric facilities.

The modest pay raise for hospice providers will equal about $230 million in 2015, CMS said.

The 188-page proposed rule also solicited comments on hospice coordination with Medicare Part D with a view toward future regulation, along with other issues.

Read the document here.