News: CMS releases waiver of 60-day delayed effective date for FY 2021 IPPS final rule

CMS has posted a waiver on the FY 2021 IPPS proposed rule home page related to the 60-day delayed effective date in regards to COVID-19 which could lead to a month-long delay in the final rule release.

The waiver states:

The United States is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that has now been detected in more than 190 locations internationally, including in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. The virus has been named “SARS CoV 2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID 19”). Due to the significant devotion of resources to the COVID-19 response, as discussed and for the reasons discussed in section XI.D. of the preamble of this propose rule, we are hereby waiving the 60 day delay in the effective date of the final rule, and replacing it with a 30 day delay in the effective date of the final rule.

The 60-day time period referenced is the time period CMS generally has to release the IPPS final rule prior to the start of the fiscal year on October 1. The last sentence of the waiver, however, states that the normal 60-day period will be replaced with a 30-day delay period. This means that CMS will likely release the 2021 IPPS final rule closer to October 1, as opposed to sometime in the month of August as is typically the norm.

Part of the reason for this delay is because the FY 2021 IPPS proposed rule was also released later than normal this year, likely due to the pandemic. CMS has yet to have a specific comment period allowing for feedback and it typically takes them the 60 days to address these comments and concerns in the final rule.

While the waiver suggests healthcare organization and professionals should expect the final rule closer to October 1 this year, it does not mean that there will be a delay in implementation, potentially leaving professionals with a very small margin of time in which to review the rule before implementation.

ACDIS will continue to provide updates on the status of the FY 2021 IPPS final rule as they become available.

Editor’s note: The FY 2021 IPPS proposed rule home page can be found here. ACDIS coverage of the FY 2021 IPPS proposed rule can be found here.