Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program and Value-Based Purchasing Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2025

This rule proposes changes and updates to the policies and payment rates used under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for FY 2025. First, we are proposing to rebase and revise the SNF market basket to reflect a 2022 base year. Next, we are proposing to update the wage index used under the SNF PPS to reflect data collected during the most recent decennial census. Additionally, we are proposing several technical revisions to the code mappings used to classify patients under the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to improve payment and coding accuracy. Finally, this proposed rule includes a Request for Information (RFI) on potential updates to the Non-Therapy Ancillary (NTA) component of PDPM. This rulemaking also proposes to update the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. We are also proposing to expand CMS' enforcement authority for imposing civil money penalties (CMPs). Finally, this proposed rule includes proposals to strengthen nursing home enforcement requirements.