HHGM Reappears in Spending Bill

Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 3:40 PM

The new proposed spending bill to keep the federal government running includes several home health provisions, most notably the reintroduction of a controversial overhaul to the Medicare Payment System known as the home health groupings model (HHGM).

HHGM was first floated in the proposed rule setting 2018 Medicare payment for home health, but after strong backlash, it was left out of the final version.  The draft bill is a short-term budget plan from Republicans to fund the government thru March 23rd

“Section 2201 of the bill calls for home health payment reform similar to HHGM, notably the transition to a 30-day unit of payment for home health services, to be effective starting in 2020. Currently, providers are reimbursed in 60-day units. Unlike the original HHGM proposal, this one calls for implementation to be budget-neutral. When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) first introduced the HHGM framework last year, it estimated that it would result in an overall $950 million payment cut for providers if implemented in a non-budget neutral manner and about a $480 million cut if implemented in a partially budget-neutral manner.”

Home health care providers are going to be disappointed to learn that HHGM is back on the table. 

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