CMS SIMPLY GOT IT WRONG ON SNFs!!

Aug. 4, 2011

Minutes after the Final Rule was released by CMS, the SNF industry began taking incredible hits. Several public companies crashed in after-market trading, but you didn’t have to be a public company to feel the pain! Not-for-profits, independent owners and religiously affiliated homes all reeled from the staggering hit of not only a single-year 11.1% Medicare cut, but major changes to the way SNFs can deliver therapy – with estimates that the therapy cut could be an additional 4-6%. Pile this all on top of the $14.6 Billion contribution over 10 years SNFs made to last year’s ACA and you have the proverbial straw that could break the camel’s back!

Unbelievably, CMS went to great pains in both the rule and conference call to point out that these cuts were simply “corrections to overpayments” that were caused by the prior year’s rollout of new RUGS-IV rates and MDS 3.0. Sorry fellas – you got it wrong again – and this time it is causing real pain for everyone. Estimates of nearly 100,000 job losses are already starting to be realized as providers try and adjust to the new payment reality. It is impossible to imagine that patient care will not be affected.

Why this had to occur is a mystery as providers, patients and stakeholders had long agreed with CMS to return any overpayment – but to do it in a responsible way, carefully over time, so as to not overcorrect and damage Providers’ ability to serve patients. CMS didn’t listen and neither did the Administration – who turned a deaf ear to the more reasonable, prudent path. Apparently the industry was not yelling loudly enough!

SO YELL WE WILL. It is clear that we need to make it louder, and we will. Every U. S. Congressperson and Senator needs to understand what CMS and the Administration just did to undermine the best and lowest-cost alternative for post-acute care for millions of Americans! Nursing Homes are a big part of the solution to containing healthcare costs, and dismantling your ability to provide this valuable care is just not smart! As if this weren’t enough damage, the new threat of even more cuts from the deficit reduction bill or the Doc Fix is a clear and present danger. Those cuts would simply sink the industry, bringing about huge patient care disruptions and bankrupting good providers.

CALL TO ACTION – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Your U.S. Congresspersons and Senators are now home. They are the only ones to help us fix this problem and prevent even more of the damage that's yet to come. Please stop whatever you are doing and call, write or visit their local office to say in your own words – CMS is hurting nursing home providers' ability to care for patients, causing job losses in your state and destabilizing care for Seniors. Tell them CMS Cut Too Much!!!! Our goal is to get 100,000 personal, hometown calls to say Enough Is Enough!

Direct Supply is working with AHCA, Leading Age and The Alliance to investigate potential options for mitigating this dangerous cut to funding. And we are preparing for the new battles emerging that threaten new cuts. One of our primary company objectives for the last 26 years has been protecting your funding – our investment in that work has never been larger. It is our way of giving back for your business and Friendship these many years. We are in DC around the clock representing YOU!

THANK YOU for your help!
– Washington Wire Editors

"We built our company on the principle of caring for your success."

– Bob Hillis,
President and CEO of
Direct Supply, Inc.