Rural Health Open Door Forum - June 14 at 3:30 pm ET

Please join us for a Special Edition CMS Rural Health Open Door Forum call on June 14 at 3:30 pm ET.  The call will include two important topics:  an opportunity to give CMS input on the HHS Budget proposal for CAH payment, and an update on the CMS Quality Payment Program.

The FY 2017 Budget includes a series of Medicare legislative proposals that would help extend the life of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by over 15 years.  These proposals focus on policy objectives such as promoting high quality, efficient care, improving beneficiary access to care, and more closely aligning payments to providers with costs of care.  Among these proposals is the proposal to reduce Critical Access Hospital reimbursement from 101 percent of reasonable costs to 100 percent of reasonable costs.  This proposal would result in a savings of approximately $1.7 billion over 10 years.  We hope you can join us to share your thoughts on this proposal along with specific information on the impact on your hospital. We look forward to your participation.

Also, CMS is embarking on an outreach effort regarding its Quality Payment Program. Participants will hear details on how to ensure they are getting the latest information on this very important initiative.  You can get more information on the QPP by going to https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs/Quality-Payment-Program.html

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This Special Edition Open Door Forum is not intended for the press, and the remarks are not considered on the record. If you are a member of the Press, you may listen in but please refrain from asking questions during the Q & A portion of the call. If you have inquiries, please contact CMS atPress@cms.hhs.gov. Thank you.

Open Door Forum Participation Instructions:

This call will be Conference Call Only.

1. To participate by phone:

Dial: 1-800-837-1935 & Reference Conference ID: 40222750

Persons participating by phone are not required to RSVP. TTY Communications Relay Services are available for the Hearing Impaired.  For TTY services dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-855-2880. A Relay Communications Assistant will help.

Encore:  1-855-859-2056; Conference ID: 40222750

Encore is an audio recording of this call that can be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 and entering the Conference ID. Encores for ODFs held on Thursdays can be accessed the following Monday. The recording is available for 3 business days.

For ODF schedule updates and E-Mailing List registration, visit our website at http://www.cms.gov/OpenDoorForums/.

Thank you.