Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

So Long, Satellite Bed Restrictions Long-term care hospitals won't have to deal with potential restrictions on the number of satellite beds they establish once they're fully ramped up on the LTCH prospective payment system. That's according to a policy change outlined in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2004 PPS payment update for LTCHs. The satellite provision goes into effect when the five-year PPS phase-in is complete, or when a facility opts for an early transition to 100 percent PPS payment, whichever comes first. Under the payment update, LTCHs will receive a 2.5 percent increase in their payment rate in 2004. The rule - published in the June 6 Federal Register - also moves the annual payment rate update for the nation's 270 or so LTCHs from Oct. 1 to July 1. Lesson Learned: With the change in the timing of future Medicare rate changes, LTCHs should get used to a different payment update cycle than acute care facilities. Diagnosis related groups, however, will continue to be updated in October.