PPS Rural Adjustment – 4/1/10

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law on March 23, 2010 created a 3% rural add-on to payments made for home health services to patients in rural areas.  Patients in rural areas would be those patients with a CBSA code beginning with ‘999’.  This rural adjustment applies to episodes ending 4/1/2010 through 12/31/2016.  You can see the 3% rural adjustment on the second page of the OASIS / PPS Summary Sheet just above the total PPS $ amounts.  There will be no automatic adjustments of PPS episodes already billed and posted into accounts receivable.  You will probably record the additional income when the final payment is received.  Any new PPS episodes posted to accounts receivable in the future will include the rural add-on if appropriate.