FY 2025 PUF Release

Table of Contents

• Availability and Revisions to Wage Index PUF
• CY 2022 Medicare Occupational Mix Survey Submission 

[Return to Top]

Availability and Revisions to Wage Index PUF

On Tuesday, 5/23/2023, CMS released the preliminary FY 2025 Worksheet S-3, Parts II and III wage index PUF. The FY 2025 IPPS wage index will be calculated based on Federal FY 2021 hospital cost reports; that is, cost reports with FYB dates of on or after 10/1/2020 and on or before 9/30/2021.

The PUF is available on the CMS website. The American Hospital Association also generally makes the wage index PUF available to individual State hospital associations. The PUF excludes hospitals designated as CAHs as of May 2023. The FY 2021 wage data will be used in the development of the proposed FY 2025 wage index, to be published in the Federal Register in Spring, 2024.

Hospitals must review the file to confirm the inclusion and accuracy of their wage index and occupational mix data. Hospitals may request revisions to their preliminary data. As the attached FY 2025 Hospital Wage Index Development Timetable indicates, all requests from hospitals for changes to their FY 2025 wage index data must be submitted to and received by their MACs by Friday, 9/1/2023. A hospital that wishes to revise its wage index and/or occupational mix data must submit its request along with complete, appropriate, detailed supporting documentation to its MAC. Requests postmarked by the 9/1/2023 deadline, but not received until after the deadline, will not be accepted. MACs must receive the revision requests and supporting documentation by this date.

[Return to Top]

CY 2022 Medicare Occupational Mix Survey Submission

Section 1886(d) (3) (E) of the Social Security Act requires CMS to collect data every three years on the occupational mix of employees for each short-term, acute care hospital participating in the Medicare program, in order to construct an occupational mix adjustment to the wage index. On 8/4/2022, CMS published a notice in the Federal Register (87 FR 47750 - 47751) announcing a new occupational mix survey. The new survey provides for the collection of hospital-specific wages and hours data for calendar year (CY) 2022 (that is, payroll periods ending between 1/1/2022 and 12/31/2022). The CY 2022 Medicare occupational mix survey will be applied for 3 years beginning with the FY 2025 wage index, and for the FY 2026 and FY 2027 wage indexes as well.

Hospitals must complete the CY 2022 occupational mix surveys and submit them on the Hospital Reporting Form, CMS 10079 (2022), to their MACs by 6/30/2023, via email attachment.

The CY 2022 Medicare occupational mix survey and instructions for hospitals can be found on the CMS website.

Hospitals must have at least 11 months of CY 2022 data in order for the data to reflect seasonal variations in staffing levels; if the hospital does not have at least 11 months of CY 2022 data (e.g., due to a change of ownership or because it is a new hospital with a short reporting period), the hospital should not submit CY 2022 occupational mix data to its MAC.

CMS expects to post the CY 2022 occupational mix survey data as a PUF on its website on 7/12/2023. Hospitals must review the file to confirm the inclusion and accuracy of their occupational mix data. Hospitals may request revisions to their preliminary data. As the attached FY 2025 Hospital Wage Index Development Timetable indicates, all requests from hospitals for changes to their FY 2025 occupational mix data must be submitted to and received by their MACs on or before 9/1/2023. A hospital that wishes to revise its occupational mix data must submit its request along with complete, appropriate, detailed supporting documentation to its MAC. Requests received after the 9/1/2023 deadline, will not be accepted. MACs must receive the revision requests and supporting documentation by this date.