Medicare Gives Inpatient Rehab Facilities a 0.9% Raise

Inpatient rehabilitation facilities will get a 0.9 percent raise in Medicare payments in fiscal 2018, according to a final rule issued July 31.

The payment boost in the rule (RIN:0938-AS99) is slightly less than what was predicted in an April proposal. At the time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said IRFs were expected to get a full 1 percent, or $80 million, hike. The agency said it had to knock off 0.1 percentage point to aggregate payments after updating data on high-cost, or outlier, cases.

The hike for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, will instead ...