Health and Human Services Department, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
This final rule sets forth the hospice wage index for fiscal year 2009. In addition, this final rule finalizes the policy to phase out the Medicare hospice budget neutrality adjustment factor, and clarifies two wage index issues pertaining to the definition of rural and urban areas and multi-campus hospital facilities.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 42 CFR Part 418 [CMS-1548-F] RIN 0938-AP14 AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This final rule sets forth the hospice wage index for fiscal year 2009. In addition, this final rule finalizes the policy to phase out the Medicare hospice budget neutrality adjustment factor, and clarifies two wage index issues pertaining to the definition of rural and urban areas and multi-campus hospital facilities. DATES: Effective Dates: These regulations are effective on October 1, 2008. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Lucas (410) 786-7723 or Randy Throndset (410) 786-0131. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background A. General 1. Hospice Care Hospice care is an approach to treatment that recognizes that the impending death of an individual warrants a change in the focus from curative care to palliative care for relief of pain and for symptom management. The goal of hospice care is to help terminally ill individuals continue life with minimal disruption to normal activities while remaining primarily in the home environment. A hospice uses an interdisciplinary approach to deliver medical, nursing, social, psychological, emotional, and spiritual services through use of a broad spectrum of professional and other caregivers, with the goal of making the individual as physically and emotionally comfortable as possible. Counseling services and inpatient r…
Citation: 73 FR 46464
