Proposed Changes in Medicare Wage Index

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the proposed wage index for FY 2016 effective Oct. 1, 2015.  This will impact the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rates effective Oct. 1, 2015 and the Home Health Agency (HHA) PPS rates effective Jan. 1, 2016. 

You may recall that last year CMS implemented a revised delineation of the Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) used to determine the Medicare wage index in a geographic region.  For the current FY 2015 wage index, CMS implemented a 50/50 phase in based on a combination of using the new and pre-existing CBSA delineations.  The FY 2016 wage index is based on a full implementation of the new CBSAs.

The LeadingAge NY Summary of Wage Index Changes provides a listing of the proposed changes broken down by county.   The wage index is used as multiplier against the labor portion of the base PPS rates to adjust for regional wage differences.  It is important that members look for their specific county within each CBSA to determine the impact on your organization.  You may also refer to the CMS Wage Index for FY 2016 web page by clicking here.

Contact: Patrick Cucinelli, pcucinelli@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8827