FAH President and CEO Chip Kahn released the following statement after reviewing the FY 2024 Hospital IPPS Final Rule: 

“The cost of patient care continues to rise while the modest increase in the IPPS inflation update compared to the proposed rule falls far short. The CMS regulation issued today ignores the real-world inflationary challenges facing patient care from escalating labor costs, drug prices, and expensive supply chain breakdowns. At the same time, CMS’s 3 percent forecast error in FY 2022 permanently depresses payment.  

“A further handicap to the inflation update shortfall is CMS cutting mission-critical uncompensated care payments by more than $900 million.  

“This final rule further strains the health care safety net in 2024 and threatens patient access to care.”