The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released its final fiscal year 2027 rules for skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.  While the payment increases are largely predictable, CMS continues to use annual rulemaking to shape how providers deliver, coordinate, and document patient care. For physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, this means a substantial increase in burden for the facilities when these policies go into effect:

• IRFs are confirming earlier deadlines for initiation of care and establishing earlier deadlines for interdisciplinary team meetings, effective Oct. 1.
• CMS is requiring SNFs to collect all-payer Minimum Data Set submissions beginning in October 2029.