Eli's Hospice Insider

Published on Mon Feb 17, 2020 PDF

Budget proposal also calls for intermediate sanctions for surveys.

The idea of paying hospices less for patients they see in nursing homes seems to be gaining traction.

The Trump administration’s recently released budget proposal for 2021 includes a plan to pay hospices less for routine home care provided in skilled nursing and nursing facilities. The change would cut $4.5 billion from Medicare spending over 10 years, according to a Department of Health and Human Services budget summary.

The budget also includes proposals to implement intermediate sanctions for hospice surveys and post accreditation survey results and information for hospice.

Overall, the budget includes about $750 billion in reduced Medicare spending over 10 years, and nearly $850 million in reduced Medicaid spending during the same time period.

With Democrats controlling the House of Representatives, the budget document is just a “list of suggestions,” as one Republican lawmaker noted. But lawmakers looking to fund their own budget priorities may turn to the list for ideas down the line.