Hospitals must request any data revisions by close of business Sept. 3 if changes should be made to their wage or occupational mix data. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will use the data to develop the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Medicare wage index, which takes effect Oct. 1, 2021. The Medicare Administrative Contractor must receive such requests by the deadline, as no additional requests for data revisions will be accepted after that date.
Since the CMS updates hospital data that is used to develop the Medicare wage index annually, it is vital that hospitals complete a thorough review process every year. A small change in the data can have a significant impact on Medicare payments, since the wage index is used to adjust payments for inpatient, outpatient and all post-acute care services.
