A recently released fact sheet lays out ways CMS can accurately reflect the cost of providing hospital care to patients and communities.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) released a new fact sheet urging CMS to make two critical changes to the fiscal year (FY) 2023 inpatient prospective payment system rule.
The goal of the fact sheet is to arm hospitals and health system leaders with information to share with their state representatives and senators. The ultimate goal, the AHA says, is to reflect the cost of providing hospital care more accurately to patients and communities.
AHA is requesting that CMS retrospectively adjust the market basket update for FY 2022 to account for unprecedented inflation and eliminate the productivity cut for FY 2023.
"Since the market basket and associated productivity update use historical data to forecast into the future, the current rising inflation and massive growth in expenses facing hospitals and health systems were not adequately considered in the estimates," AHA said in a recent letter to members of the House and Senate.
According to the AHA, Congress should urge CMS to use its "special exceptions and adjustments" authority to make a retrospective adjustment to these market basket amounts. In addition, Congress should urge CMS to eliminate the productivity cut for FY 2023, it said.
Amanda Norris is the Director of Content for HealthLeaders.