HASC members in Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties are approaching a late summer deadline to submit applications for Group Medicare Wage Index geographic reclassifications for federal fiscal years 2021 through 2023.

Toyon Associates, a HASC strategic partner, is again offering its reclassification application services at a significant cost savings to HASC members.

Information from current and historical Medicare Wage Index data files show that hospitals in the three counties will benefit from a geographic reclassification to an adjacent county and/or limit any potential downside risk should Medicare wage index‐related regulations change.

With reclassification, hospitals in Orange and San Bernardino counties will either receive the higher of the Los Angeles County wage index, or the California statewide rural floor. However, as of the current federal fiscal year, the index for Los Angeles County has exceeded the rural floor, providing hospitals in those two counties with a wage index that is greater than the rural floor for the first time since 2012. In 2019 alone, the benefit in additional Medicare revenue to these two counties added up to over $6 million.

Reclassification of Riverside County to Orange County is a preventative measure intended to mitigate the impact of any potential changes to Medicare regulations.

In order to meet the CMS deadline, Toyon is requesting that the required documentation from all hospitals in a county be signed and sent to their office by the end of July.

Please contact HASC Senior VP, Public Policy and Reimbursement Paul Young (below), or Ryan Sader of Toyon at (888) 514-9312 should you have any further questions or concerns.

Contact:
Paul Young
(213) 538-0763
pyoung@hasc.org