FY 2022 HOSPICE WAGE INDEX AND QUALITY REPORTING FINAL RULE Information Providers Should Know As shared with the membership in an initial Regulatory Alert issued on July 29 and in a more comprehensive Regulatory Alert published on July 30, the FY 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Update Final Rule went on display on the Federal Register website for public inspection on July 29, 2021. It was published in the Federal Register on August 4, 2021. ALL REGULATIONS WILL TAKE EFFECT ON OCTOBER 1, 2021. Regulatory Components of the FY 2022 Hospice Final Rule Providers will find information on reimbursement, rates, and cap. There are updates to the Hospice Election Statement Addendum and two 1135 waivers were made permanent. Please note that there are adjustments from the FY 2022 Hospice Proposed Rule that went on public inspection on April 8, 2022. Key rate and calculation changes to note from the final rule: ▌ Final hospice rate: The increase for FY 2022 is 2.0%. ▌ Cap Amount: The final hospice cap amount for FY 2022 is $31,297.61. ▌ Wage index values have changed: The wage index values for every county have been adjusted from those published in the proposed rule. Please check carefully to ensure that the final wage index values are used. NHPCO has prepared the FY 2022 Final Wage Index State/County Rate Chart, which is found on the Regulatory Medicare Reimbursement page of the website for members. ▌ % of FY 2022 increase has dropped: Note that the final rate increase is 2.0%. Use the State/County Rate Chart to accurately predict your hospice's rates for each level of care in each county served. ▌ Rebasing and revising the labor component of the rates: CMS confirms that they have used cost report data for freestanding hospices from 2018 to rebase and revise the rates. 20 Newsline / Fall 2021https://www.nhpco.org/regulatory-and-quality/regulatory/billing-reimbursement/reimbursement-medicare-2