To:        NHPCO Membership
From:   NHPCO Regulatory Team
Re:        September 21, 2009 (Updated 10/07/09)

NOTE: CMS corrected the Medicaid rates on October 7, 2009. The chart below reflects that CMS correction.

FY2010 Medicaid Rates Released

Last week, CMS released the FY2010 rates for the Medicaid Hospice Benefit.  The rates are effective October 1, 2009 through September 2010.  These rates have been communicated to CMS Regional offices who will communicate these rates to state Medicaid agencies.  The memo specifies that the hospice wage index from the FY2010 Hospice Final Wage Index should be used to compute Medicaid rates.

Note that these rates are slightly different than those for Medicare, because the co-pays for respite and drugs are included in the Medicare daily rates, but not required for Medicaid.

Hospice Medicaid Rate Chart FY2010
(Chart below, updated 10/07/09)

The cap amount is optional for the Medicaid hospice program. The hospice cap runs from November 1st of each year through October 31st of the following year. The hospice cap amount for Medicare for the cap year ending October 31, 2009, is $23,014.50. States choosing to implement this cap must specify its use in the Medicaid State Plan.

The CMS transmittal (PDF) is available on the CMS Web site.

Medicaid Rate Calculator (Excel) – updated 10/07/09

Questions may be directed to regulatory@nhpco.org. Thank you.

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Please note: NHPCO’s regulatory team will be in Denver for the Clinical Team Conference, preconference seminars, and Council of States meetings the week of September 21, 2009.