NJ Spotlight published the following article on March 17, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
REHAB HOSPITALS FIGHT RULES CHANGE, CITE BENEFITS TO RECUPERATING PATIENTS
ANDREW KITCHENMAN | MARCH 17, 2014
Proposed changes to Medicare guidelines could force small rehab hospitals to close their doors, according to its industry association, thus closing off a valuable recuperative resource to patients.
A report produced by the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA), says that those who visit inpatient rehab hospitals return home sooner and live longer than similar patients who are treated at nursing homes.
Among those participating in the long-running lobbying effort is Dr. Bruce M. Gans, executive vice president and chief medical officer of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, which has facilities in Chester, Saddle Brook, and West Orange. Gans is the current chairman of AMRPA, an industry trade group for inpatient rehab hospitals.
The report comes at a time when rehab facilities are fighting a pair of federal proposals that would tighten payments to these hospitals. One proposal would increase from 60 percent to 75 percent the minimum number of patients with a set of 13 specified conditions that hospitals must treat to receive Medicare. The other proposal would equalize federal payments between rehab hospitals and nursing homes for certain conditions.