Title:
Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO

Abstract:
This proposed rule would update the payment rates used under the prospective payment system for skilled nursing facilities, for fiscal year 2010. In addition, it would recalibrate the case-mix indexes so that they more accurately reflect parity in expenditures related to the implementation of case-mix refinements in January 2006. It also discusses the results of our ongoing analysis of nursing home staff time measurement data collected in the Staff Time and Resource Intensity Verification project, and proposes a new RUG-IV case-mix classification model that will use the updated Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 resident assessment for case mix classification. In addition, this proposed rule includes a request for public comment on a possible requirement for the quarterly reporting of nursing home staffing data, and would revise the regulations to incorporate certain technical corrections. Finally, this proposed rule includes a request for public comments on applying the quality monitoring mechanism in place for all other SNF PPS facilities to rural swing-bed hospitals.