August 18, 2022 – The American Hospital Association (AHA) commented on the CMS proposed 3.3% market basket update for Medicare home health agencies in 2023, saying it’s “woefully inadequate.”
The letter from AHA said the proposed marked update does not capture the unprecedented inflationary environment home health agencies (as is the delivery system as a whole) are experiencing.
“This is because the market basket is a time-lagged estimate that uses historical data to forecast into the future,” the letter stated. “When historical data are no longer a good predictor of future changes, the market basket methodology becomes ineffective.”
AHA says that it wants CMS to discuss in the final rule how the agency will account for the high costs to ensure that beneficiaries continue to have access to quality home health care.