Congress Passes 1 year Doc Fix – Contains SNF Value Based Purchasing Program

On the evening of March 31st, the Senate approved the already approved House version of the Doc Fix that averted a 24% rate cut to physicians.  The “fix” is for one year, until April 1, 2015.  The measure also included an extension of the therapy cap exception and an AHCA-influenced hospital readmission policy that is being labeled as SNF Value Based Purchasing that will begin on Oct. 1, 2018.  The SNF VBP program calls for a 2% rate cut, but with at least 50% and up to 70% of that rate cut being allocated to an incentive pool to reward SNFs based on performance on a hospital readmission measure.  There are a number of details still to come from CMS on how the ultimate program will work.  To read a detailed memo from AHCA President Mark Parkinson, click here.