About Continuum of Care
Post-acute care — often provided at inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, and at patients’ homes — is vital to the health care delivery system. These providers deliver essential medical and rehabilitative services following hospital care. Hospital case managers help support, and connect patients, families, and caregivers through communication and coordination with post-acute care providers and home and community-based services. This includes the development of a discharge or transition plan that addresses the patient’s goals, needs and treatment preferences, and prepares patients and caregivers for post-discharge care.
CHA Comments on Data Collection for MA Plans
What’s happening: CHA submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to a request for information related to data collection for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
What else to know: CHA strongly encourages CMS to use the formal rulemaking process to implement additional data collection and reporting requirements.
CHA Comments in Response to IRF, IPF Payment Proposed Rules
What’s happening: CHA submitted comments in response to the federal fiscal year 2025 inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) and inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPF) prospective payment system proposed rules.
What else to know: Comments were due to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services by 2 p.m. (PT) on May 28.
Summary: Finalized Skilled-Nursing Facility Staffing Standards
What’s happening: A summary is available of finalized new staffing standards for long-term care facilities, including skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) and SNFs operated as distinct-part units of acute care hospitals.
What else to know: The regulations are effective June 21, with compliance with overall ratios required beginning May 2026.
Summary: Medicaid Managed Care Final Rule
What’s happening: A summary of the finalized changes and clarifications regarding Medicaid managed care delivery and finance is available.
What else to know: The regulation is effective July 9.
CHA Continues Work to Hold Insurers Accountable
What’s happening: CHA continues to await a response to the lawsuit filed against Anthem Blue Cross on April 23.
What else to know: In the interim, CHA continues to collect information to support its position that many managed care plans, including Anthem Blue Cross, are violating certain provisions of the Knox-Keene Act.
CHA Issues Summaries of IPPS, LTCH PPS Proposed Rules
What’s happening: CHA has issued summaries of the federal fiscal year 2025 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital (LTCH) PPS proposed rules.
What else to know: CHA will host a complimentary, members-only webinar on the IPPS provisions on May 15. Comments on the proposed rules are due by 2 p.m. (PT) on June 10.
CHA to Host ED Resource Relief – Implementing the CARE Act Webinar
What’s happening: CHA will host a webinar on May 10 at 9 a.m. (PT) about a new option for hospitals to connect frequent users of emergency departments (EDs) and inpatient psychiatric services to the help they need: the Community, Assistance, Recovery & Empowerment (CARE) Act.
What else to know: The webinar is free for CHA members, and registration is required.
CHA DataSuite Analyzes FFY 2025 Medicare Skilled-Nursing Facility Proposed Rule
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite issued a hospital-specific analysis of the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2025 Medicare skilled-nursing facility prospective payment system proposed rule analysis.
What else to know: The analysis is intended to show hospitals how Medicare fee-for-service payments would change from FFY 2024 to FFY 2025 based on the policies set forth in the proposed rule.
CMS Finalizes Skilled-Nursing Facility Staffing Standards
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule establishing new staffing standards for long-term care facilities, including skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) and SNFs operated as distinct-part units of acute care hospitals.
What else to know: The regulations are effective June 21. Compliance with overall ratios is required beginning May 2026.
Summaries: FFY 2025 Hospice, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility, Skilled-Nursing Facility Medicare Payment Rules
What’s happening: Summaries of the hospice wage index, inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system (PPS), and skilled-nursing facility (SNF) PPS proposed rules are now available.
What else to know: Comments on the proposed rules are due by May 28.