SNFs Could Face Hard Times Without a Market Basket Update

Article Overview

This article discusses proposed 2006 Medicare prospective payment system changes affecting skilled nursing facilities, including MedPAC’s recommendation on inflation adjustments and CMS’s update to the SNF case-mix classification approach. It places those payment-policy changes in the context of long-term care financing concerns, provider reactions, and the relationship between Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement pressures. The article is relevant to SNF administrators, long-term care providers, and coding or reimbursement professionals following Medicare post-acute care policy.