CMS Proposes Home Health Payment Reduction in 2017 – On June 27, 2016, CMS released a proposed rule that would decrease payments to home health providers by one percent, or $180 million, in calendar year 2017. Home health services provided to 3.4 million beneficiaries cost Medicare approximately $17.8 billion in 2015.  Comments to the proposed rule are due August 26, 2016.  The proposed rule is available here, and the CMS fact sheet is available here.

Final Rule Allows Qualified Entities to Sell Medicare Claims Data – CMS published a final rule on July 1, 2016 that allows qualified entities to sell analyses of Medicare and private sector claims data.  According to CMS, the rule will authorize qualified entities to analyze chronically ill and other resource-intensive populations in order to identify those treatments and interventions that increase quality and reduce costs.  Providers could then implement those findings to improve quality of care.  The rule includes strict privacy and security requirements for entities exchanging claims data.  The rule will be published in the Federal Register on July 7, 2016 and is available here.  The CMS fact sheet is available here.