Did you know that if you are not a Medicare Certified provider, only Medicaid, that there is a cap of $10,000 on any Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) you receive for a survey or complaint finding? If you are Medicare Certified there is not a cap and we have seen fines as high as $60,000 recently.
In light of this, now could be a good time for some members to do a cost/benefit analysis of their Medicare Certified status. Are you generating enough Medicare income to justify the costs associated with being a Skilled Facility and all that goes with it, including the risk of increasing fines?
While being a Skilled Facility brings the possibility of a higher daily rate for that resident and gets some residents in the door that will possibly stay long term, the costs and risks associated with this might be too high for some facilities at this time. This is something that all facilities should be reviewing with their financial advisors periodically.
