Medicare: Inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system ( 2003 FY),

[Federal Register: August 1, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 148)]

[Notices]

[Page 49928-49944]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr01au02-64]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1205-N]

RIN 0938-AL22

Medicare Program; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for FY 2003

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice updates prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2003 as authorized under section 1886(j)(3)(C) of the Social Security Act (the Act). Section 1886(j)(5) of the Act requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register on or before August 1 before each fiscal year, the classifications and weighting factors for the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) case-mix groups and a description of the methodology and data used in computing the prospective payment rates for that fiscal year.

DATES: Effective Date: The updated IRF prospective payment rates are effective for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2002 and on or before September 30, 2003 (FY 2003).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Kuhl, (410) 786-4597, Nora Hoban, (410) 786-0675.

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Table of Contents

  1. Background

    1. Requirements of the Statute for Updating the Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs)

    2. IRF Prospective Payment--General Overview

    3. Classification System for the IRF PPS

    4. IRF Market Basket Index

    5. Update of Payment Rates Under the PPS for IRFs for FY 2003

    6. Area Wage Adjustment

    7. Examples of Computing the Total Adjusted IRF Prospective Payments II. Future Updates III. Collection of Information Requirements IV. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking V. Regulatory Impact Analysis

    8. Introduction

      1. Executive Order 12866

      2. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and Impact on Small Hospitals

      3. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

      4. Executive Order 13132

      5. Overall Impact

    9. Anticipated Effects of the Notice

      1. Budgetary Impact

      2. Impact on Providers

      3. Calculation of the Estimated FY 2002 IRF Prospective Payments

      4. Calculation of the Estimated FY 2003 IRF Prospective Payments

  2. Background

    1. Requirements of the Statute for Updating the Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs)

      On August 7, 2001, we published a final rule entitled ``Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (CMS-1069-F)'' in the Federal Register (66 FR 41316), that established a prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) as authorized under section 1886(j) of the Social Security Act (the Act) and codified at subpart P of part 412 of the Medicare regulations. In the August 7, 2001 final rule, we set forth per discharge Federal rates for FY 2002 that provided payment for inpatient operating and capital costs of furnishing covered rehabilitation services (that is, routine, ancillary, and capital costs) but not costs of approved educational activities, bad debts, and other services or items that are outside the scope of the IRF PPS.

      Covered rehabilitation services include services for which benefits are provided under the fee-for-service Part A (Hospital Insurance Program) of the Medicare program. Annual updates to the IRF PPS rates are required by section 1886(j)(3)(C) of the Act.

      In this notice, we set forth the prospective payment rates applicable for IRFs for discharges occurring during FY 2003 as mandated by the Act. In establishing these payment rates, we update the IRF per discharge payment rates that were published in the August 7, 2001 final rule.

      Section 1886(j)(5) of the Act requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register, on or before August 1 of the preceding fiscal year, the classifications and weighting factors for the IRF case-mix groups (CMGs) and a description of the methodology and data used in computing the prospective payment rates for the upcoming fiscal year. In this notice, we are using the same classifications and weighting factors for the IRF CMGs that were set forth in the August 7, 2001 final rule. Although the statute permits the Secretary to adjust the classification and weighting factors for IRF CMGs from time to time, we are not making any adjustments at this time because the data are not available as discussed in section I.C of this notice. Further, the case and facility level adjustments described in the August 7,

      [[Page 49929]]

      2001 final rule will apply to the FY 2003 IRF PPS payment rates described in this notice.

      Accordingly, the CMGs, comorbidity tiers, and the corresponding relative weights presented in the August 7, 2001 final rule will be used as the basis for developing the FY 2003 IRF PPS rates set forth in this notice.

      Specifically, we multiply an increase factor, described in section I.D of this notice, by the FY 2002 IRF standardized payment amount (also referred to as the budget neutral conversion factor in the August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41364 through 41367) to develop the FY 2003 standardized payment amount. Then we multiply the FY 2003 budget neutral conversion factor by the relative weights presented in the August 7, 2001 final rule and in Table 1 of this notice to develop the FY 2003 Federal unadjusted IRF PPS payment rates.

    2. IRF Prospective Payment--General Overview

      Section 4421 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) (Pub. L. 105- 33), as amended by section 125 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) (Pub. L. 106-113), and by section 305 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA) (Pub. L. 106-554), provides for the implementation of a per discharge PPS, through new section 1886(j) of the Act, for IRFs--inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and rehabilitation units. Although a complete discussion of the IRF PPS provisions appears in the August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41316), we provide below a general description of the IRF PPS.

      The IRF PPS uses information from a patient assessment instrument, the Inpatient Rehabilitation--Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI), to classify patients into distinct case-mix groups (CMGs) based on clinical characteristics and expected resource needs. The CMGs were constructed using rehabilitation impairment categories, functional status (both motor and cognitive), age, comorbidities, and other factors that we deemed appropriate to improve the explanatory power of the groups.

      Payment for services furnished to a Medicare patient consists of a predetermined, per-discharge amount for each CMG with applicable case and facility level adjustments. Payments under the IRF PPS encompass inpatient operating and capital costs of furnishing covered rehabilitation services, (that is, routine, ancillary and capital costs) but not costs of approved educational activities, bad debts, and other services or items outside the scope of the IRF PPS.

      The IRF PPS uses Federal prospective payment rates across 100 distinct CMGs. In addition, the existence of a specific comorbidity may affect the calculation of the Federal prospective payment rate. In general, however, the FY 2002 Federal prospective payment rates were established using a standardized payment amount. A set of relative payment weights (which account for the relative difference in resource use across CMGs) are applied to the budget neutral conversion factor, and finally, a number of facility level and case level adjustments may apply. The facility level adjustments include those that account for geographic variations in wages (wage index), the percentage of low- income patients (LIPs), and location in a rural area. Case level adjustments include those that apply for transfers, short-stays, interrupted stays, outliers and cases in which the beneficiary expires.

      For cost reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2002, section 1886(j)(1) of the Act and Sec. 412.626 of the regulations provide that IRFs transition into the PPS receiving a ``blended payment.'' For cost reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2002, these blended payments consist of 66\2/3\ percent of the Federal IRF PPS rate and 33\1/3\ percent of the payment the IRF would have been paid had the IRF PPS not been implemented. However, during the transition period, an IRF with a cost reporting period beginning on or after January 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2002 may elect to bypass this blended payment and be paid 100 percent of the Federal IRF PPS rate. For cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2002 (FY 2003), however, payments for all IRFs will consist of 100 percent of the Federal IRF PPS rate.

    3. Classification System for the IRF PPS

      As previously stated, in this notice we are using the same case-mix classification system that was set forth in the August 7, 2001 final rule. It is our intention to pursue the development of refinements to the case-mix classification system that will improve the ability of the PPS to more accurately pay IRFs. We have awarded a contract to the Rand Corporation (RAND) to conduct additional research that will, in the initial(1), P. 9 of the signature package version, stages, provide us with the data necessary to address the feasibility of developing and implementing refinements. When the study has been completed, we plan to review various approaches so that we can propose an appropriate methodology to develop and apply refinements. Any specific refinement proposal resulting from this research will be published in the Federal Register for public review and comment.

      Table 1, Relative Weights for Case-Mix Groups (CMGs), presents the CMGs, comorbidity tiers, and the corresponding Federal relative weights. We also present the average length of stay for each CMG. As we discussed in the August 7, 2001 final rule, the average length of stay for each CMG is used to determine when an IRF discharge meets the definition of a transfer, which results in a per diem case level adjustment. Because these data elements are not changing as a result of this notice, Table 1 shown below is identical to Table 1 that was published in the August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41394 through 41396). The relative weights reflect the inclusion of cases with an interruption of stay (patient returns on day of discharge or either of the next 2 days). The methodology we used to construct the data elements in Table 1 are described in detail in the August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41350 through 41353).

      Table 1.--Relative Weights for Case-Mix Groups (CMGs)

      CMG description (M =

      Relative weights

      Average length of stay

      CMG

      motor, C = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- cognitive, A = age) Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 None Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 None

      0101...... Stroke M=69-84 and 0.4778 0.4279 0.4078 0.3859

      10

      9

      6

      8 C=23-35. 0102...... Stroke M=59-68 and 0.6506 0.5827 0.5553 0.5255

      11

      12

      10

      10 C=23-35. 0103...... Stroke M=59-84 and 0.8296 0.7430 0.7080 0.6700

      14

      12

      12

      12 C=5-22. 0104...... Stroke M=53-58...... 0.9007 0.8067 0.7687 0.7275

      17

      13

      12

      13 0105...... Stroke M=47-52...... 1.1339 1.0155 0.9677 0.9158

      16

      17

      15

      15

      [[Page 49930]]

      0106...... Stroke M=42-46...... 1.3951 1.2494 1.1905 1.1267

      18

      18

      18

      18 0107...... Stroke M=39-41...... 1.6159 1.4472 1.3790 1.3050

      17

      20

      21

      21 0108...... Stroke M=34-38 and 1.7477 1.5653 1.4915 1.4115

      25

      27

      22

      23 A>=83. 0109...... Stroke M=34-38 and 1.8901 1.6928 1.6130 1.5265

      24

      24

      22

      24 A=82. 0110...... Stroke M=12-33 and 2.0275 1.8159 1.7303 1.6375

      29

      25

      27

      26 A>=89. 0111...... Stroke M=27-33 and 2.0889 1.8709 1.7827 1.6871

      29

      26

      24

      27 A=82-88. 0112...... Stroke M=12-26 and 2.4782 2.2195 2.1149 2.0015

      40

      33

      30

      31 A=82-88. 0113...... Stroke M=27-33 and 2.2375 2.0040 1.9095 1.8071

      30

      27

      27

      28 A=81. 0114...... Stroke M=12-26 and 2.7302 2.4452 2.3300 2.2050

      37

      34

      32

      33 A=81. 0201...... Traumatic brain

      0.7689 0.7276 0.6724 0.6170

      13

      14

      14

      11 injury M=52-84 and C=24-35. 0202...... Traumatic brain

      1.1181 1.0581 0.9778 0.8973

      18

      16

      17

      16 injury M=40-51 and C=24-35. 0203...... Traumatic brain

      1.3077 1.2375 1.1436 1.0495

      19

      20

      19

      18 injury M=40-84 and C=5-23. 0204...... Traumatic brain

      1.6534 1.5646 1.4459 1.3269

      24

      23

      22

      22 injury M=30-39. 0205...... Traumatic brain

      2.5100 2.3752 2.1949 2.0143

      44

      36

      35

      31 injury M=12-29. 0301...... Non-traumatic brain 0.9655 0.8239 0.7895 0.7195

      14

      14

      12

      13 injury M=51-84. 0302...... Non-traumatic brain 1.3678 1.1672 1.1184 1.0194

      19

      17

      17

      16 injury M=41-50. 0303...... Non-traumatic brain 1.8752 1.6002 1.5334 1.3976

      23

      23

      22

      22 injury M=25-40. 0304...... Non-traumatic brain 2.7911 2.3817 2.2824 2.0801

      44

      32

      34

      31 injury M=12-24. 0401...... Traumatic spinal

      0.9282 0.8716 0.8222 0.6908

      15

      15

      16

      14 cord injury M=50-84. 0402...... Traumatic spinal

      1.4211 1.3344 1.2588 1.0576

      21

      18

      22

      19 cord injury M=36-49. 0403...... Traumatic spinal

      2.3485 2.2052 2.0802 1.7478

      32

      32

      31

      30 cord injury M=19-35. 0404...... Traumatic spinal

      3.5227 3.3078 3.1203 2.6216

      46

      43

      62

      40 cord injury M=12-18. 0501...... Non-traumatic spinal 0.7590 0.6975 0.6230 0.5363

      12

      13

      10

      10 cord injury M=51-84 and C=30-35. 0502...... Non-traumatic spinal 0.9458 0.8691 0.7763 0.6683

      15

      17

      10

      12 cord injury M=51-84 and C=5-29. 0503...... Non-traumatic spinal 1.1613 1.0672 0.9533 0.8206

      17

      17

      15

      14 cord injury M=41-50. 0504...... Non-traumatic spinal 1.6759 1.5400 1.3757 1.1842

      23

      21

      21

      19 cord injury M=34-40. 0505...... Non-traumatic spinal 2.5314 2.3261 2.0778 1.7887

      31

      31

      29

      28 cord injury M=12-33. 0601...... Neurological M=56-84 0.8794 0.6750 0.6609 0.5949

      14

      13

      12

      12 0602...... Neurological M=47-55 1.1979 0.9195 0.9003 0.8105

      15

      15

      14

      15 0603...... Neurological M=36-46 1.5368 1.1796 1.1550 1.0397

      21

      18

      18

      18 0604...... Neurological M=12-35 2.0045 1.5386 1.5065 1.3561

      31

      24

      25

      23 0701...... Fracture of lower 0.7015 0.7006 0.6710 0.5960

      13

      13

      12

      11 extremity M=52-84. 0702...... Fracture of lower 0.9264 0.9251 0.8861 0.7870

      15

      15

      16

      14 extremity M=46-51. 0703...... Fracture of lower 1.0977 1.0962 1.0500 0.9326

      18

      17

      17

      16 extremity M=42-45. 0704...... Fracture of lower 1.2488 1.2471 1.1945 1.0609

      14

      20

      19

      18 extremity M=38-41. 0705...... Fracture of lower 1.4760 1.4740 1.4119 1.2540

      20

      22

      22

      21 extremity M=12-37. 0801...... Replacement of lower 0.4909 0.4696 0.4518 0.3890

      9

      9

      8

      8 extremity joint M=58-84. 0802...... Replacement of lower 0.5667 0.5421 0.5216 0.4490

      10

      10

      9

      9 extremity joint M=55-57. 0803...... Replacement of lower 0.6956 0.6654 0.6402 0.5511

      9

      11

      11

      10 extremity joint M=47-54. 0804...... Replacement of lower 0.9284 0.8881 0.8545 0.7356

      15

      14

      14

      12 extremity joint M=12-46 and C=32-35. 0805...... Replacement of lower 1.0027 0.9593 0.9229 0.7945

      16

      16

      14

      14 extremity joint M=40-46 and C=5-31. 0806...... Replacement of lower 1.3681 1.3088 1.2592 1.0840

      21

      20

      19

      18 extremity joint M=12-39 and C=5-31. 0901...... Other orthopedic

      0.6988 0.6390 0.6025 0.5213

      12

      11

      11

      11 M=54-84. 0902...... Other orthopedic

      0.9496 0.8684 0.8187 0.7084

      15

      15

      14

      13 M=47-53. 0903...... Other orthopedic

      1.1987 1.0961 1.0334 0.8942

      18

      18

      17

      16 M=38-46. 0904...... Other orthopedic

      1.6272 1.4880 1.4029 1.2138

      23

      23

      23

      21 M=12-37. 1001...... Amputation, lower 0.7821 0.7821 0.7153 0.6523

      13

      13

      12

      13 extremity M=61-84. 1002...... Amputation, lower 0.9998 0.9998 0.9144 0.8339

      15

      15

      14

      15 extremity M=52-60. 1003...... Amputation, lower 1.2229 1.2229 1.1185 1.0200

      18

      17

      17

      18 extremity M=46-51. 1004...... Amputation, lower 1.4264 1.4264 1.3046 1.1897

      20

      20

      19

      19 extremity M=39-45. 1005...... Amputation, lower 1.7588 1.7588 1.6086 1.4670

      21

      25

      23

      23 extremity M=12-38. 1101...... Amputation, non-

      1.2621 0.7683 0.7149 0.6631

      18

      11

      13

      12 lower extremity M=52-84. 1102...... Amputation, non-

      1.9534 1.1892 1.1064 1.0263

      25

      18

      17

      18 lower extremity M=38-51. 1103...... Amputation, non-

      2.6543 1.6159 1.5034 1.3945

      33

      23

      22

      25 lower extremity M=12-37. 1201...... Osteoarthritis M=55- 0.7219 0.5429 0.5103 0.4596

      13

      10

      11

      9 84 and C=34-35. 1202...... Osteoarthritis M=55- 0.9284 0.6983 0.6563 0.5911

      16

      11

      13

      13 84 and C=5-33. 1203...... Osteoarthritis M=48- 1.0771 0.8101 0.7614 0.6858

      18

      15

      14

      13 54. 1204...... Osteoarthritis M=39- 1.3950 1.0492 0.9861 0.8882

      22

      19

      16

      17 47. 1205...... Osteoarthritis M=12- 1.7874 1.3443 1.2634 1.1380

      27

      21

      21

      20 38. 1301...... Rheumatoid, other 0.7719 0.6522 0.6434 0.5566

      13

      14

      13

      11 arthritis M=54-84. 1302...... Rheumatoid, other 0.9882 0.8349 0.8237 0.7126

      16

      14

      14

      14 arthritis M=47-53. 1303...... Rheumatoid, other 1.3132 1.1095 1.0945 0.9469

      20

      18

      16

      17 arthritis M=36-46. 1304...... Rheumatoid, other 1.8662 1.5768 1.5555 1.3457

      25

      25

      29

      22 arthritis M=12-35. 1401...... Cardiac M=56-84..... 0.7190 0.6433 0.5722 0.5156

      15

      12

      11

      11 1402...... Cardiac M=48-55..... 0.9902 0.8858 0.7880 0.7101

      13

      15

      13

      13

      [[Page 49931]]

      1403...... Cardiac M=38-47..... 1.2975 1.1608 1.0325 0.9305

      21

      19

      16

      16 1404...... Cardiac M=12-37..... 1.8013 1.6115 1.4335 1.2918

      30

      24

      21

      20 1501...... Pulmonary M=61-84... 0.8032 0.7633 0.6926 0.6615

      15

      13

      13

      13 1502...... Pulmonary M=48-60... 1.0268 0.9758 0.8855 0.8457

      17

      17

      14

      15 1503...... Pulmonary M=36-47... 1.3242 1.2584 1.1419 1.0906

      21

      20

      18

      18 1504...... Pulmonary M=12-35... 2.0598 1.9575 1.7763 1.6965

      30

      28

      30

      26 1601...... Pain syndrome M=45- 0.8707 0.8327 0.7886 0.6603

      15

      14

      13

      13 84. 1602...... Pain syndrome M=12- 1.3320 1.2739 1.2066 1.0103

      21

      20

      20

      18 44. 1701...... Major multiple

      0.9996 0.9022 0.8138 0.7205

      16

      14

      11

      13 trauma without brain or spinal cord injury M=46-84. 1702...... Major multiple

      1.4755 1.3317 1.2011 1.0634

      21

      21

      20

      18 trauma without brain or spinal cord injury M=33-45. 1703...... Major multiple

      2.1370 1.9288 1.7396 1.5402

      33

      28

      27

      24 trauma without brain or spinal cord injury M=12-32. 1801...... Major multiple

      0.7445 0.7445 0.6862 0.6282

      12

      12

      12

      10 trauma with brain or spinal cord injury M=45-84 and C=33-35. 1802...... Major multiple

      1.0674 1.0674 0.9838 0.9007

      16

      16

      16

      16 trauma with brain or spinal cord injury M=45-84 and C=5-32. 1803...... Major multiple

      1.6350 1.6350 1.5069 1.3797

      22

      25

      20

      22 trauma with brain or spinal cord injury M=26-44. 1804...... Major multiple

      2.9140 2.9140 2.6858 2.4589

      41

      29

      40

      40 trauma with brain or spinal cord injury M=12-25. 1901...... Guillian Barre M=47- 1.1585 1.0002 0.9781 0.8876

      15

      15

      16

      15 84. 1902...... Guillian Barre M=31- 2.1542 1.8598 1.8188 1.6505

      27

      27

      27

      24 46. 1903...... Guillian Barre M=12- 3.1339 2.7056 2.6459 2.4011

      41

      35

      30

      40 30. 2001...... Miscellaneous M=54- 0.8371 0.7195 0.6705 0.6029

      12

      13

      11

      12 84. 2002...... Miscellaneous M=45- 1.1056 0.9502 0.8855 0.7962

      15

      15

      14

      14 53. 2003...... Miscellaneous M=33- 1.4639 1.2581 1.1725 1.0543

      20

      18

      18

      18 44. 2004...... Miscellaneous M=12- 1.7472 1.5017 1.3994 1.2583

      30

      22

      21

      22 32 and A>=82. 2005...... Miscellaneous M=12- 2.0799 1.7876 1.6659 1.4979

      33

      25

      24

      24 32 and A=81. 2101...... Burns M=46-84....... 1.0357 0.9425 0.8387 0.8387

      18

      18

      15

      16 2102...... Burns M=12-45....... 2.2508 2.0482 1.8226 1.8226

      31

      26

      26

      29 5001...... Short-stay cases, ........ ........ ........ 0.1651 ........ ........ ........

      3 length of stay is 3 days or fewer. 5101...... Expired, orthopedic, ........ ........ ........ 0.4279 ........ ........ ........

      8 length of stay is 13 days or fewer. 5102...... Expired, orthopedic, ........ ........ ........ 1.2390 ........ ........ ........

      23 length of stay is 14 days or more. 5103...... Expired, not

      ........ ........ ........ 0.5436 ........ ........ ........

      9 orthopedic, length of stay is 15 days or fewer. 5104...... Expired, not

      ........ ........ ........ 1.7100 ........ ........ ........

      28 orthopedic, length of stay is 16 days or more.

    4. IRF Market Basket Index

      Section 1886(j)(3)(C) of the Act requires the Secretary to establish an increase factor that reflects changes over time in the prices of an appropriate mix of goods and services included in the covered IRF services, which is referred to as a market basket index. Accordingly, in updating the FY 2003 payment rates set forth in this notice, we apply an appropriate increase factor to the FY 2002 IRF PPS payment rates that is equal to the IRF market basket. In constructing the IRF market basket, we use the methodology set forth in Appendix D of the August 7, 2001 final rule. For this notice, the projected FY 2003 IRF market basket increase factor is 3 percent.

    5. Update of Payment Rates Under the PPS for IRFs for FY 2003

      Once we calculate the increase factor, we can determine the updated Federal prospective payments for FY 2003. In accordance with Sec. 412.624(c)(3)(ii), we apply the increase factor (3 percent) to the budget neutral conversion factor for FY 2002 ($11,838). This results in an updated standardized payment amount for FY 2003 of $12,193. The FY 2003 standardized payment amount is applied to each CMG weight shown in Table 1 to compute the unadjusted IRF prospective payment rates for FY 2003.

      Table 2, Federal Prospective Payments for Case-Mix Groups (CMGs) for FY 2003, displays the CMGs, the comorbidity tiers, and the corresponding unadjusted IRF prospective payment rates for FY 2003.

      Table 2.--Federal Prospective Payments for Case-Mix Groups (CMGs) for FY 2003

      Payment rate tier Payment rate tier Payment rate tier Payment rate no CMG

      1

      2

      3

      comorbidities

      0101..........................

      5825.82

      5217.38

      4972.31

      4705.28 0102..........................

      7932.77

      7104.86

      6770.77

      6407.42 0103..........................

      10115.31

      9059.40

      8632.64

      8169.31 0104..........................

      10982.24

      9836.09

      9372.76

      8870.41

      [[Page 49932]]

      0105..........................

      13825.64

      12381.99

      11799.17

      11166.35 0106..........................

      17010.45

      15233.93

      14515.77

      13737.85 0107..........................

      19702.67

      17645.71

      16814.15

      15911.87 0108..........................

      21309.71

      19085.70

      18185.86

      17210.42 0109..........................

      23045.99

      20640.31

      19667.31

      18612.61 0110..........................

      24721.31

      22141.27

      21097.55

      19966.04 0111..........................

      25469.96

      22811.88

      21736.46

      20570.81 0112..........................

      30216.69

      27062.36

      25786.98

      24404.29 0113..........................

      27281.84

      24434.77

      23282.53

      22033.97 0114..........................

      33289.33

      29814.32

      28409.69

      26885.57 0201..........................

      9375.20

      8871.63

      8198.57

      7523.08 0202..........................

      13632.99

      12901.41

      11922.32

      10940.78 0203..........................

      15944.79

      15088.84

      13943.91

      12796.55 0204..........................

      20159.91

      19077.17

      17629.86

      16178.89 0205..........................

      30604.43

      28960.81

      26762.42

      24560.36 0301..........................

      11772.34

      10045.81

      9626.37

      8772.86 0302..........................

      16677.59

      14231.67

      13636.65

      12429.54 0303..........................

      22864.31

      19511.24

      18696.75

      17040.94 0304..........................

      34031.88

      29040.07

      27829.30

      25362.66 0401..........................

      11317.54

      10627.42

      10025.08

      8422.92 0402..........................

      17327.47

      16270.34

      15348.55

      12895.32 0403..........................

      28635.26

      26888.00

      25363.88

      21310.93 0404..........................

      42952.28

      40332.01

      38045.82

      31965.17 0501..........................

      9254.49

      8504.62

      7596.24

      6539.11 0502..........................

      11532.14

      10596.94

      9465.43

      8148.58 0503..........................

      14159.73

      13012.37

      11623.59

      10005.58 0504..........................

      20434.25

      18777.22

      16773.91

      14438.95 0505..........................

      30865.36

      28362.14

      25334.62

      21809.62 0601..........................

      10722.52

      8230.28

      8058.35

      7253.62 0602..........................

      14605.99

      11211.46

      10977.36

      9882.43 0603..........................

      18738.20

      14382.86

      14082.92

      12677.06 0604..........................

      24440.87

      18760.15

      18368.75

      16534.93 0701..........................

      8553.39

      8542.42

      8181.50

      7267.03 0702..........................

      11295.60

      11279.74

      10804.22

      9595.89 0703..........................

      13384.26

      13365.97

      12802.65

      11371.19 0704..........................

      15226.62

      15205.89

      14564.54

      12935.55 0705..........................

      17996.87

      17972.48

      17215.30

      15290.02 0801..........................

      5985.54

      5725.83

      5508.80

      4743.08 0802..........................

      6909.77

      6609.83

      6359.87

      5474.66 0803..........................

      8481.45

      8113.22

      7805.96

      6719.56 0804..........................

      11319.98

      10828.60

      10418.92

      8969.17 0805..........................

      12225.92

      11696.74

      11252.92

      9687.34 0806..........................

      16681.24

      15958.20

      15353.43

      13217.21 0901..........................

      8520.47

      7791.33

      7346.28

      6356.21 0902..........................

      11578.47

      10588.40

      9982.41

      8637.52 0903..........................

      14615.75

      13364.75

      12600.25

      10902.98 0904..........................

      19840.45

      18143.18

      17105.56

      14799.86 1001..........................

      9536.15

      9536.15

      8721.65

      7953.49 1002..........................

      12190.56

      12190.56

      11149.28

      10167.74 1003..........................

      14910.82

      14910.82

      13637.87

      12436.86 1004..........................

      17392.10

      17392.10

      15906.99

      14506.01 1005..........................

      21445.05

      21445.05

      19613.66

      17887.13 1101..........................

      15388.79

      9367.88

      8716.78

      8085.18 1102..........................

      23817.81

      14499.92

      13490.34

      12513.68 1103..........................

      32363.88

      19702.67

      18330.96

      17003.14 1201..........................

      8802.13

      6619.58

      6222.09

      5603.90 1202..........................

      11319.98

      8514.37

      8002.27

      7207.28 1203..........................

      13133.08

      9877.55

      9283.75

      8361.96 1204..........................

      17009.24

      12792.90

      12023.52

      10829.82 1205..........................

      21793.77

      16391.05

      15404.64

      13875.63 1301..........................

      9411.78

      7952.27

      7844.98

      6786.62 1302..........................

      12049.12

      10179.94

      10043.37

      8688.73 1303..........................

      16011.85

      13528.13

      13345.24

      11545.55 1304..........................

      22754.58

      19225.92

      18966.21

      16408.12 1401..........................

      8766.77

      7843.76

      6976.83

      6286.71 1402..........................

      12073.51

      10800.56

      9608.08

      8658.25 1403..........................

      15820.42

      14153.63

      12589.27

      11345.59 1404..........................

      21963.25

      19649.0217478.67

      15750.92 1501..........................

      9793.42

      9306.92

      8444.87

      8065.67 1502..........................

      12519.77

      11897.93

      10796.90

      10311.62 1503..........................

      16145.97

      15343.67

      13923.19

      13297.69

      [[Page 49933]]

      1504..........................

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      20685.42 1601..........................

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      10153.11

      9615.40

      8051.04 1602..........................

      16241.08

      15532.66

      14712.07

      12318.59 1701..........................

      12188.12

      11000.52

      9922.66

      8785.06 1702..........................

      17990.77

      16237.42

      14645.01

      12966.04 1703..........................

      26056.44

      23517.86

      21210.94

      18779.66 1801..........................

      9077.69

      9077.69

      8366.84

      7659.64 1802..........................

      13014.81

      13014.81

      11995.47

      10982.24 1803..........................

      19935.56

      19935.56

      18373.63

      16822.68 1804..........................

      35530.40

      35530.40

      32747.96

      29981.37 1901..........................

      14125.59

      12195.44

      11925.97

      10822.51 1902..........................

      26266.16

      22676.54

      22176.63

      20124.55 1903..........................

      38211.64

      32989.38

      32261.46

      29276.61 2001..........................

      10206.76

      8772.86

      8175.41

      7351.16 2002..........................

      13480.58

      11585.79

      10796.90

      9708.07 2003..........................

      17849.33

      15340.01

      14296.29

      12855.08 2004..........................

      21303.61

      18310.23

      17062.88

      15342.45 2005..........................

      25360.22

      21796.21

      20312.32

      18263.89 2101..........................

      12628.29

      11491.90

      10226.27

      10226.27 2102..........................

      27444.00

      24973.70

      22222.96

      22222.96 5001.......................... ................. ................. .................

      2013.06 5101.......................... ................. ................. .................

      5217.38 5102.......................... ................. ................. .................

      15107.13 5103.......................... ................. ................. .................

      6628.11 5104.......................... ................. ................. .................

      20850.03

    6. Area Wage Adjustment

      Section 1886(j)(6) of the Act requires the Secretary to adjust the proportion (as estimated by the Secretary from time to time) of rehabilitation facilities' costs that are attributable to wages and wage-related costs for area differences in wage levels by a factor (established by the Secretary) reflecting the relative hospital wage level in the geographic area of the rehabilitation facility compared to the national average wage level for such facilities. Not later than October 1, 2001 and at least every 36 months thereafter, the Secretary is required to update the factor under the preceding sentence on the basis of information available to the Secretary (and updated as appropriate) of the wages and wage-related costs incurred in furnishing rehabilitation services. Any adjustments or updates made under section 1886(j)(6) of the Act shall be made in a budget neutral manner.

      For the FY 2003 IRF PPS payment rates set forth in this notice, we are applying the same wage adjustment as used for the FY 2002 IRF PPS rates. This includes both the labor-related share and wage indices as specified in the August 7, 2001 final rule. In the August 7, 2001 final rule, we established a wage index based on FY 1997 acute care hospital wages to adjust the FY 2002 IRF payment rates. Although the statute permits the Secretary to adjust the labor-related share and wage index from time to time, we are not adjusting these figures at this time. It is our intention to update the annual wage index and the labor-related share as soon as feasible. However, we must first develop a methodology to incorporate a budget neutrality adjustment for calculating these figures in order to be consistent with the statute. Once we have developed a proposed methodology, we plan to discuss it in a future proposed rule allowing the public an opportunity to comment on its design and application. We believe that continuing to apply the wage index and labor-related share used in FY 2002, provides an appropriate adjustment to account for geographic variation in wage levels, consistent with the statute.

      To calculate the wage-adjusted facility payments for the payment rates set forth in this notice, the Federal prospective payment is multiplied by the labor-related percentage (72.395) to determine the labor-related portion of the Federal prospective payments. This labor- related portion is then multiplied by the applicable IRF wage index shown in Table 3A for urban areas and Table 3B for rural areas. These tables shown below are identical to Table 3A and 3B that were published in the August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41397 through 41404).

      Table 3A.--Wage Index for Urban Areas

      Wage MSA and urban area (constituent counties or county equivalents) index

      0040 Abilene, TX.............................................. 0.8240

      Taylor, TX 0060 Aguadilla, PR............................................ 0.4391

      Aguada, PR

      Aguadilla, PR

      Moca, PR 0080 Akron, OH................................................ 0.9541

      Portage, OH

      Summit, OH 0120 Albany, GA............................................... 0.9893

      Dougherty, GA

      Lee, GA 0160 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY.............................. 0.8480

      Albany, NY

      Montgomery, NY

      Rensselaer, NY

      Saratoga, NY

      Schenectady, NY

      Schoharie, NY 0200 Albuquerque, NM.......................................... 0.9146

      Bernalillo, NM

      Sandoval, NM

      Valencia, NM 0220 Alexandria, LA........................................... 0.8121

      Rapides, LA 0240 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA........................... 0.9839

      Carbon, PA

      Lehigh, PA

      Northampton, PA 0280 Altoona, PA.............................................. 0.9317

      Blair, PA 0320 Amarillo, TX............................................. 0.8673

      Potter, TX

      Randall, TX 0380 Anchorage, AK............................................ 1.2775

      [[Page 49934]]

      Anchorage, AK 0440 Ann Arbor, MI............................................ 1.1093

      Lenawee, MI

      Livingston, MI

      Washtenaw, MI 0450 Anniston,AL.............................................. 0.8284

      Calhoun, AL 0460 Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI.............................. 0.9052

      Calumet, WI

      Outagamie, WI

      Winnebago, WI 0470 Arecibo, PR.............................................. 0.4525

      Arecibo, PR

      Camuy, PR

      Hatillo, PR 0480 Asheville, NC............................................ 0.9479

      Buncombe, NC

      Madison, NC 0500 Athens, GA............................................... 0.9739

      Clarke, GA

      Madison, GA

      Oconee, GA 0520 Atlanta, GA.............................................. 1.0097

      Barrow, GA

      Bartow, GA

      Carroll, GA

      Cherokee, GA

      Clayton, GA

      Cobb, GA

      Coweta, GA

      De Kalb, GA

      Douglas, GA

      Fayette, GA

      Forsyth, GA

      Fulton, GA

      Gwinnett, GA

      Henry, GA

      Newton, GA

      Paulding, GA

      Pickens, GA

      Rockdale, GA

      Spalding, GA

      Walton, GA 0560 Atlantic City-Cape May, NJ............................... 1.1167

      Atlantic City, NJ

      Cape May, NJ 0580 Auburn-Opelika, AL....................................... 0.8079

      Lee, AL 0600 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC..................................... 0.9127

      Columbia, GA

      McDuffie, GA

      Richmond, GA

      Aiken, SC

      Edgefield, SC 0640 Austin-San Marcos, TX.................................... 0.9540

      Bastrop, TX

      Caldwell, TX

      Hays, TX

      Travis, TX

      Williamson, TX 0680 Bakersfield, CA.......................................... 0.9684

      Kern, CA 0720 Baltimore, MD............................................ 0.9223

      Anne Arundel, MD

      Baltimore, MD

      Baltimore City, MD

      Carroll, MD

      Harford, MD

      Howard, MD

      Queen Annes, MD 0733 Bangor, ME............................................... 0.9550

      Penobscot, ME 0743 Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA.................................. 1.3801

      Barnstable, MA 0760 Baton Rouge, LA.......................................... 0.8796

      Ascension, LA

      East Baton Rouge

      Livingston, LA

      West Baton Rouge, LA 0840 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX................................. 0.8734

      Hardin, TX

      Jefferson, TX

      Orange, TX 0860 Bellingham, WA........................................... 1.1439

      Whatcom, WA 0870 Benton Harbor, MI........................................ 0.8671

      Berrien, MI 0875 Bergen-Passaic, NJ....................................... 1.1818

      Bergen, NJ

      Passaic, NJ 0880 Billings, MT............................................. 0.9604

      Yellowstone, MT 0920 Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS........................... 0.8236

      Hancock, MS

      Harrison, MS

      Jackson, MS 0960 Binghamton, NY........................................... 0.8600

      Broome, NY

      Tioga, NY 1000 Birmingham, AL........................................... 0.8360

      Blount, AL

      Jefferson, AL

      St. Clair, AL

      Shelby, AL 1010 Bismarck, ND............................................. 0.7625

      Burleigh, ND

      Morton, ND 1020 Bloomington, IN.......................................... 0.8733

      Monroe, IN 1040 Bloomington-Normal, IL................................... 0.9095

      McLean, IL 1080 Boise City, ID........................................... 0.9006

      Ada, ID

      Canyon, ID 1123 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence-Lowell-Brockton, MA-NH......... 1.1086

      Bristol, MA

      Essex, MA

      Middlesex, MA

      Norfolk, MA

      Plymouth, MA

      Suffolk, MA

      Worcester, MA

      Hillsborough, NH

      Merrimack, NH

      Rockingham, NH

      Strafford, NH 1125 Boulder-Longmont, CO..................................... 0.9731

      Boulder, CO 1145 Brazoria, TX............................................. 0.8658

      Brazoria, TX 1150 Bremerton, WA............................................ 1.0975

      Kitsap, WA 1240 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX..................... 0.8714

      Cameron, TX 1260 Bryan-College Station, TX................................ 0.8237

      Brazos, TX 1280 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY................................ 0.9455

      Erie, NY

      Niagara, NY 1303 Burlington, VT........................................... 1.0840

      Chittenden, VT

      Franklin, VT

      Grand Isle, VT 1310 Caguas, PR............................................... 0.4548

      Caguas, PR

      Cayey, PR

      Cidra, PR

      Gurabo, PR

      San Lorenzo, PR 1320 Canton-Massillon, OH..................................... 0.8480

      Carroll, OH

      Stark, OH 1350 Casper, WY............................................... 0.8724

      Natrona, WY 1360 Cedar Rapids, IA......................................... 0.8716

      Linn, IA 1400 Champaign-Urbana, IL..................................... 0.9189

      Champaign, IL 1440 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.......................... 0.9029

      Berkeley, SC

      Charleston, SC

      Dorchester, SC 1480 Charleston, WV........................................... 0.9235

      Kanawha, WV

      Putnam, WV 1520 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC...................... 0.9321

      Cabarrus, NC

      Gaston, NC

      Lincoln, NC

      Mecklenburg, NC

      Rowan, NC

      Stanly, NC

      Union, NC

      York, SC 1540 Charlottesville, VA...................................... 1.0581

      Albemarle, VA

      Charlottesville City, VA

      Fluvanna, VA

      Greene, VA 1560 Chattanooga, TN-GA....................................... 0.9790

      Catoosa, GA

      Dade, GA

      Walker, GA

      Hamilton, TN

      Marion, TN 1580 Cheyenne, WY............................................. 0.8308

      Laramie, WY 1600 Chicago, IL.............................................. 1.1092

      Cook, IL

      De Kalb, IL

      Du Page, IL

      Grundy, IL

      Kane, IL

      Kendall, IL

      Lake, IL

      McHenry, IL

      Will, IL 1620 Chico-Paradise, CA....................................... 0.9918

      Butte, CA 1640 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN..................................... 0.9349

      Dearborn, IN

      Ohio, IN

      Boone, KY

      Campbell, KY

      [[Page 49935]]

      Gallatin, KY

      Grant, KY

      Kenton, KY

      Pendleton, KY

      Brown, OH

      Clermont, OH

      Hamilton, OH

      Warren, OH 1660 Clarksville-Hopkinsville, TN-KY.......................... 0.8173

      Christian, KY

      Montgomery, TN 1680 Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH.............................. 0.9528

      Ashtabula, OH

      Geauga, OH

      Cuyahoga, OH

      Lake, OH

      Lorain, OH

      Medina, OH 1720 Colorado Springs, CO..................................... 0.9698

      El Paso, CO 1740 Columbia MO.............................................. 0.8920

      Boone, MO 1760 Columbia, SC............................................. 0.9557

      Lexington, SC

      Richland, SC 1800 Columbus, GA-AL.......................................... 0.8531

      Russell, AL

      Chattanoochee, GA

      Harris, GA

      Muscogee, GA 1840 Columbus, OH............................................. 0.9573

      Delaware, OH

      Fairfield, OH

      Franklin, OH

      Licking, OH

      Madison, OH

      Pickaway, OH 1880 Corpus Christi, TX....................................... 0.8746

      Nueces, TX

      San Patricio, TX 1890 Corvallis, OR............................................ 1.1326

      Benton, OR 1900 Cumberland, MD-WV........................................ 0.8369

      Allegany MD

      Mineral WV 1920 Dallas, TX............................................... 0.9792

      Collin, TX

      Dallas, TX

      Denton, TX

      Ellis, TX

      Henderson, TX

      Hunt, TX

      Kaufman, TX

      Rockwall, TX 1950 Danville, VA............................................. 0.8589

      Danville City, VA

      Pittsylvania, VA 1960 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL...................... 0.8897

      Scott, IA

      Henry, IL

      Rock Island, IL 2000 Dayton-Springfield, OH................................... 0.9384

      Clark, OH

      Greene, OH

      Miami, OH

      Montgomery, OH 2020 Daytona Beach, FL........................................ 0.9165

      Flagler, FL

      Volusia, FL 2030 Decatur, AL.............................................. 0.8534

      Lawrence, AL

      Morgan, AL 2040 Decatur, IL.............................................. 0.8095

      Macon, IL 2080 Denver, CO............................................... 1.0120

      Adams, CO

      Arapahoe, CO

      Denver, CO

      Douglas, CO

      Jefferson, CO 2120 Des Moines, IA........................................... 0.9073

      Dallas, IA

      Polk, IA

      Warren, IA 2160 Detroit, MI.............................................. 1.0364

      Lapeer, MI

      Macomb, MI

      Monroe, MI

      Oakland, MI

      St. Clair, MI

      Wayne, MI 2180 Dothan, AL............................................... 0.7943

      Dale, AL

      Houston, AL 2190 Dover, DE................................................ 1.0078

      Kent, DE 2200 Dubuque, IA.............................................. 0.8746

      Dubuque, IA 2240 Duluth-Superior, MN-WI................................... 1.0032

      St. Louis, MN

      Douglas, WI 2281 Dutchess County, NY...................................... 1.0187

      Dutchess, NY 2290 Eau Claire, WI........................................... 0.8761

      Chippewa, WI

      Eau Claire, WI 2320 El Paso, TX.............................................. 0.9332

      El Paso, TX 2330 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................................... 0.9145

      Elkhart, IN 2335 Elmira, NY............................................... 0.8546

      Chemung, NY 2340 Enid, OK................................................. 0.8610

      Garfield, OK 2360 Erie, PA................................................. 0.8892

      Erie, PA 2400 Eugene-Springfield, OR................................... 1.0960

      Lane, OR 2440 Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY.............................. 0.8137

      Posey, IN

      Vanderburgh, IN

      Warrick, IN

      Henderson, KY 2520 Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN.................................... 0.8750

      Clay, MN

      Cass, ND 2560 Fayetteville, NC......................................... 0.8655

      Cumberland, NC 2580 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR....................... 0.7910

      Benton, AR

      Washington, AR 2620 Flagstaff, AZ-UT......................................... 1.0681

      Coconino, AZ

      Kane, UT 2640 Flint, MI................................................ 1.1153

      Genesee, MI 2650 Florence, AL............................................. 0.7616

      Colbert, AL

      Lauderdale, AL 2655 Florence, SC............................................. 0.8737

      Florence, SC 2670 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO................................ 1.0620

      Larimer, CO 2680 Ft. Lauderdale, FL....................................... 1.0118

      Broward, FL 2700 Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL................................ 0.9247

      Lee, FL 2710 Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, FL........................... 0.9538

      Martin, FL

      St. Lucie, FL 2720 Fort Smith, AR-OK........................................ 0.8052

      Crawford, AR

      Sebastian, AR

      Sequoyah, OK 2750 Fort Walton Beach, FL.................................... 0.9607

      Okaloosa, FL 2760 Fort Wayne, IN........................................... 0.8647

      Adams, IN

      Allen, IN

      De Kalb, IN

      Huntington, IN

      Wells, IN

      Whitley, IN 2800 Forth Worth-Arlington, TX................................ 0.9392

      Hood, TX

      Johnson, TX

      Parker, TX

      Tarrant, TX 2840 Fresno, CA............................................... 1.0057

      Fresno, CA

      Madera, CA 2880 Gadsden, AL.............................................. 0.8423

      Etowah, AL 2900 Gainesville, FL.......................................... 0.9741

      Alachua, FL 2920 Galveston-Texas City, TX................................. 0.9796

      Galveston, TX 2960 Gary, IN................................................. 0.9451

      Lake, IN

      Porter, IN 2975 Glens Falls, NY.......................................... 0.8361

      Warren, NY

      Washington, NY 2980 Goldsboro, NC............................................ 0.8423

      Wayne, NC 2985 Grand Forks, ND-MN....................................... 0.8774

      Polk, MN

      Grand Forks, ND 2995 Grand Junction, CO....................................... 0.8947

      Mesa, CO 3000 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI........................ 1.0070

      Allegan, MI

      Kent, MI

      Muskegon, MI

      Ottawa, MI 3040 Great Falls, MT.......................................... 0.9065

      Cascade, MT 3060 Greeley, CO.............................................. 0.9664

      Weld, CO 3080 Green Bay, WI............................................ 0.9207

      Brown, WI 3120 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC.................. 0.9068

      Alamance, NC

      [[Page 49936]]

      Davidson, NC

      Davie, NC

      Forsyth, NC

      Guilford, NC

      Randolph, NC

      Stokes, NC

      Yadkin, NC 3150 Greenville, NC........................................... 0.9402

      Pitt, NC 3160 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC...................... 0.8894

      Anderson, SC

      Cherokee, SC

      Greenville, SC

      Pickens, SC

      Spartanburg, SC 3180 Hagerstown, MD........................................... 0.9409

      Washington, MD 3200 Hamilton-Middletown, OH.................................. 0.9061

      Butler, OH 3240 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA.......................... 0.9338

      Cumberland, PA

      Dauphin, PA

      Lebanon, PA

      Perry, PA 3283 Hartford, CT............................................. 1.1236

      Hartford, CT

      Litchfield, CT

      Middlesex, CT

      Tolland, CT 3285 Hattiesburg, MS.......................................... 0.7490

      Forrest, MS

      Lamar, MS 3290 Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC............................. 0.9008

      Alexander, NC

      Burke, NC

      Caldwell, NC

      Catawba, NC 3320 Honolulu, HI............................................. 1.1865

      Honolulu, HI 3350 Houma, LA................................................ 0.8100

      Lafourche, LA

      Terrebonne, LA 3360 Houston, TX.............................................. 0.9663

      Chambers, TX

      Fort Bend, TX

      Harris, TX

      Liberty, TX

      Montgomery, TX

      Waller, TX 3400 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH............................. 0.9876

      Boyd, KY

      Carter, KY

      Greenup, KY

      Lawrence, OH

      Cabell, WV

      Wayne, WV 3440 Huntsville, AL........................................... 0.8932

      Limestone, AL

      Madison, AL 3480 Indianapolis, IN......................................... 0.9747

      Boone, IN

      Hamilton, IN

      Hancock, IN

      Hendricks, IN

      Johnson, IN

      Madison, IN

      Marion, IN

      Morgan, IN

      Shelby, IN 3500 Iowa City, IA............................................ 0.9537

      Johnson, IA 3520 Jackson, MI.............................................. 0.9134

      Jackson, MI 3560 Jackson, MS.............................................. 0.8749

      Hinds, MS

      Madison, MS

      Rankin, MS 3580 Jackson, TN.............................................. 0.8796

      Chester, TN

      Madison, TN 3600 Jacksonville, FL......................................... 0.9186

      Clay, FL

      Duval, FL

      Nassau, FL

      St. Johns, FL 3605 Jacksonville, NC......................................... 0.7777

      Onslow, NC 3610 Jamestown, NY............................................ 0.7818

      Chautaqua, NY 3620 Janesville-Beloit, WI.................................... 0.9587

      Rock, WI 3640 Jersey City, NJ.......................................... 1.1440

      Hudson, NJ 3660 Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA.................... 0.8272

      Carter, TN

      Hawkins, TN

      Sullivan, TN

      Unicoi, TN

      Washington, TN

      Bristol City, VA

      Scott, VA

      Washington, VA 3680 Johnstown, PA............................................ 0.8767

      Cambria, PA

      Somerset, PA 3700 Jonesboro, AR............................................ 0.7831

      Craighead, AR 3710 Joplin, MO............................................... 0.8148

      Jasper, MO

      Newton, MO 3720 Kalamazoo-Battlecreek, MI................................ 1.0440

      Calhoun, MI

      Kalamazoo, MI

      Van Buren, MI 3740 Kankakee, IL............................................. 0.9902

      Kankakee, IL 3760 Kansas City, KS-MO....................................... 0.9458

      Johnson, KS

      Leavenworth, KS

      Miami, KS

      Wyandotte, KS

      Cass, MO

      Clay, MO

      Clinton, MO

      Jackson, MO

      Lafayette, MO

      Platte, MO

      Ray, MO 3800 Kenosha, WI.............................................. 0.9611

      Kenosha, WI 3810 Killeen-Temple, TX....................................... 1.0164

      Bell, TX

      Coryell, TX 3840 Knoxville, TN............................................ 0.8221

      Anderson, TN

      Blount, TN

      Knox, TN

      Loudon, TN

      Sevier, TN

      Union, TN 3850 Kokomo, IN............................................... 0.9518

      Howard, IN

      Tipton, IN 3870 La Crosse, WI-MN......................................... 0.9197

      Houston, MN

      La Crosse, WI 3880 Lafayette, LA............................................ 0.8390

      Acadia, LA

      Lafayette, LA

      St. Landry, LA

      St. Martin, LA 3920 Lafayette, IN............................................ 0.8834

      Clinton, IN

      Tippecanoe, IN 3960 Lake Charles, LA......................................... 0.7399

      Calcasieu, LA 3980 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL................................ 0.9239

      Polk, FL 4000 Lancaster, PA............................................ 0.9247

      Lancaster, PA 4040 Lansing-East Lansing, MI................................. 0.9880

      Clinton, MI

      Eaton, MI

      Ingham, MI 4080 Laredo, TX............................................... 0.8168

      Webb, TX 4100 Las Cruces, NM........................................... 0.8639

      Dona Ana, NM 4120 Las Vegas, NV-AZ......................................... 1.0796

      Mohave, AZ

      Clark, NV

      Nye, NV 4150 Lawrence, KS............................................. 0.8190

      Douglas, KS 4200 Lawton, OK............................................... 0.8996

      Comanche, OK 4243 Lewiston-Auburn, ME...................................... 0.9003

      Androscoggin, ME 4280 Lexington, KY............................................ 0.8774

      Bourbon, KY

      Clark, KY

      Fayette, KY

      Jessamine, KY

      Madison, KY

      Scott, KY

      Woodford, KY 4320 Lima, OH................................................. 0.9320

      Allen, OH

      Auglaize, OH 4360 Lincoln, NE.............................................. 0.9619

      Lancaster, NE 4400 Little Rock-North Little, AR............................. 0.8908

      Faulkner, AR

      Lonoke, AR

      Pulaski, AR

      Saline, AR 4420 Longview-Marshall, TX.................................... 0.8922

      Gregg, TX

      Harrison, TX

      Upshur, TX 4480 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA............................... 1.1984

      Los Angeles, CA 4520 Louisville, KY-IN........................................ 0.9261

      Clark, IN

      Floyd, IN

      [[Page 49937]]

      Harrison, IN

      Scott, IN

      Bullitt, KY

      Jefferson, KY

      Oldham, KY 4600 Lubbock, TX.............................................. 0.8848

      Lubbock, TX 4640 Lynchburg, VA............................................ 0.8851

      Amherst, VA

      Bedford City, VA

      Bedford, VA

      Campbell, VA

      Lynchburg City, VA 4680 Macon, GA................................................ 0.8848

      Bibb, GA

      Houston, GA

      Jones, GA

      Peach, GA

      Twiggs, GA 4720 Madison, WI.............................................. 1.0316

      Dane, WI 4800 Mansfield, OH............................................ 0.8690

      Crawford, OH

      Richland, OH 4840 Mayaguez, PR............................................. 0.4577

      Anasco, PR

      Cabo Rojo, PR

      Hormigueros, PR

      Mayaguez, PR

      Sabana Grande, PR

      San German, PR 4880 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX............................. 0.8566

      Hidalgo, TX 4890 Medford-Ashland, OR...................................... 1.0344

      Jackson, OR 4900 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL........................ 0.9688

      Brevard, FL 4920 Memphis, TN-AR-MS........................................ 0.8688

      Crittenden, AR

      De Soto, MS

      Fayette, TN

      Shelby, TN

      Tipton, TN 4940 Merced, CA............................................... 0.9559

      Merced, CA 5000 Miami, FL................................................ 1.0110

      Dade, FL 5015 Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ......................... 1.0987

      Hunterdon, NJ

      Middlesex, NJ

      Somerset, NJ 5080 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI................................... 0.9664

      Milwaukee, WI

      Ozaukee, WI

      Washington, WI

      Waukesha, WI 5120 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI.............................. 1.0971

      Anoka, MN

      Carver, MN

      Chisago, MN

      Dakota, MN

      Hennepin, MN

      Isanti, MN

      Ramsey, MN

      Scott, MN

      Sherburne, MN

      Washington, MN

      Wright, MN

      Pierce, WI

      St. Croix, WI 5140 Missoula, MT............................................. 0.9274

      Missoula, MT 5160 Mobile, AL............................................... 0.8006

      Baldwin, AL

      Mobile, AL 5170 Modesto, CA.............................................. 1.0401

      Stanislaus, CA 5190 Monmouth-Ocean, NJ....................................... 1.1293

      Monmouth, NJ

      Ocean, NJ 5200 Monroe, LA............................................... 0.8316

      Ouachita, LA 5240 Montgomery, AL........................................... 0.7642

      Autauga, AL

      Elmore, AL

      Montgomery, AL 5280 Muncie, IN............................................... 1.0683

      Delaware, IN 5330 Myrtle Beach, SC......................................... 0.8440

      Horry, SC 5345 Naples, FL............................................... 0.9661

      Collier, FL 5360 Nashville, TN............................................ 0.9327

      Cheatham, TN

      Davidson, TN

      Dickson, TN

      Robertson, TN

      Rutherford, TN

      Sumner, TN

      Williamson, TN

      Wilson, TN 5380 Nassau-Suffolk, NY....................................... 1.3784

      Nassau, NY

      Suffolk, NY 5483 New Haven-Bridgeport-Stamford-Waterbury-Danbury, CT...... 1.2192

      Fairfield, CT

      New Haven, CT 5523 New London-Norwich, CT................................... 1.2061

      New London, CT 5560 New Orleans, LA.......................................... 0.9235

      Jefferson, LA

      Orleans, LA

      Plaquemines, LA

      St. Bernard, LA

      St. Charles, LA

      St. James, LA

      St. John The Baptist, LA

      St. Tammany, LA 5600 New York, NY............................................. 1.4483

      Bronx, NY

      Kings, NY

      New York, NY

      Putnam, NY

      Queens, NY

      Richmond, NY

      Rockland, NY

      Westchester, NY 5640 Newark, NJ............................................... 1.1828

      Essex, NJ

      Morris, NJ

      Sussex, NJ

      Union, NJ

      Warren, NJ 5660 Newburgh, NY-PA.......................................... 1.0847

      Orange, NY

      Pike, PA 5720 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC............... 0.8374

      Currituck, NC

      Chesapeake City, VA

      Gloucester, VA

      Hampton City, VA

      Isle of Wight, VA

      James City, VA

      Mathews, VA

      Newport News City, VA

      Norfolk City, VA

      Poquoson City,VA

      Portsmouth City, VA

      Suffolk City, VA

      Virginia Beach City, VA

      Williamsburg City, VA

      York, VA 5775 Oakland, CA.............................................. 1.5029

      Alameda, CA

      Contra Costa, CA 5790 Ocala, FL................................................ 0.9243

      Marion, FL 5800 Odessa-Midland, TX....................................... 0.9206

      Ector, TX

      Midland, TX 5880 Oklahoma City, OK........................................ 0.8774

      Canadian, OK

      Cleveland, OK

      Logan, OK

      McClain, OK

      Oklahoma, OK

      Pottawatomie, OK 5910 Olympia, WA.............................................. 1.0689

      Thurston, WA 5920 Omaha, NE-IA............................................. 0.9470

      Pottawattamie, IA

      Cass, NE

      Douglas, NE

      Sarpy, NE

      Washington, NE 5945 Orange County, CA........................................ 1.1453

      Orange, CA 5960 Orlando, FL.............................................. 0.9550

      Lake, FL

      Orange, FL

      Osceola, FL

      Seminole, FL 5990 Owensboro, KY............................................ 0.8159

      Daviess, KY 6015 Panama City, FL.......................................... 0.9010

      Bay, FL 6020 Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH.............................. 0.8258

      Washington, OH

      Wood, WV 6080 Pensacola, FL............................................ 0.8176

      Escambia, FL

      Santa Rosa, FL 6120 Peoria-Pekin, IL......................................... 0.8494

      Peoria, IL

      Tazewell, IL

      Woodford, IL 6160 Philadelphia, PA-NJ...................................... 1.0753

      Burlington, NJ

      Camden, NJ

      Gloucester, NJ

      Salem, NJ

      Bucks, PA

      Chester, PA

      Delaware, PA

      [[Page 49938]]

      Montgomery, PA

      Philadelphia, PA 6200 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ......................................... 0.9628

      Maricopa, AZ

      Pinal, AZ 6240 Pine Bluff, AR........................................... 0.7771

      Jefferson, AR 6280 Pittsburgh, PA........................................... 0.9570

      Allegheny, PA

      Beaver, PA

      Butler, PA

      Fayette, PA

      Washington, PA

      Westmoreland, PA 6323 Pittsfield, MA........................................... 1.0130

      Berkshire, MA 6340 Pocatello, ID............................................ 0.9076

      Bannock, ID 6360 Ponce, PR................................................ 0.4993

      Guayanilla, PR

      Juana Diaz, PR

      Penuelas, PR

      Ponce, PR

      Villalba, PR

      Yauco, PR 6403 Portland, ME............................................. 0.9687

      Cumberland, ME

      Sagadahoc, ME

      York, ME 6440 Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA................................ 1.0913

      Clackamas, OR

      Columbia, OR

      Multnomah, OR

      Washington, OR

      Yamhill, OR

      Clark, WA 6483 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket, RI......................... 1.0771

      Bristol, RI

      Kent, RI

      Newport, RI

      Providence, RI

      Washington, RI 6520 Provo-Orem, UT........................................... 1.0014

      Utah, UT 6560 Pueblo, CO............................................... 0.8783

      Pueblo, CO 6580 Punta Gorda, FL.......................................... 0.9602

      Charlotte, FL 6600 Racine, WI............................................... 0.9231

      Racine, WI 6640 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC........................... 0.9583

      Chatham, NC

      Durham, NC

      Franklin, NC

      Johnston, NC

      Orange, NC

      Wake, NC 6660 Rapid City, SD........................................... 0.8779

      Pennington, SD 6680 Reading, PA.............................................. 0.9105

      Berks, PA 6690 Redding, CA.............................................. 1.1641

      Shasta, CA 6720 Reno, NV................................................. 1.0550

      Washoe, NV 6740 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA............................. 1.1460

      Benton, WA

      Franklin, WA 6760 Richmond-Petersburg, VA.................................. 0.9618

      Charles City County, VA

      Chesterfield, VA

      Colonial Heights City, VA

      Dinwiddie, VA

      Goochland, VA

      Hanover, VA

      Henrico, VA

      Hopewell City, VA

      New Kent, VA

      Petersburg City, VA

      Powhatan, VA

      Prince George, VA

      Richmond City, VA 6780 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA............................. 1.1229

      Riverside, CA

      San Bernardino, CA 6800 Roanoke, VA.............................................. 0.8663

      Botetourt, VA

      Roanoke, VA

      Roanoke City, VA

      Salem City, VA 6820 Rochester, MN............................................ 1.1334

      Olmsted, MN 6840 Rochester, NY............................................ 0.8991

      Genesee, NY

      Livingston, NY

      Monroe, NY

      Ontario, NY

      Orleans, NY

      Wayne, NY 6880 Rockford, IL............................................. 0.8819

      Boone, IL

      Ogle, IL

      Winnebago, IL 6895 Rocky Mount, NC.......................................... 0.8849

      Edgecombe, NC

      Nash, NC 6920 Sacramento, CA........................................... 1.1932

      El Dorado, CA

      Placer, CA

      Sacramento, CA 6960 Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI............................. 0.9557

      Bay, MI

      Midland, MI

      Saginaw, MI 6980 St. Cloud, MN............................................ 0.9994

      Benton, MN

      Stearns, MN 7000 St. Joseph, MO........................................... 0.9071

      Andrews, MO

      Buchanan, MO 7040 St. Louis, MO-IL......................................... 0.8947

      Clinton, IL

      Jersey, IL

      Madison, IL

      Monroe, IL

      St. Clair, IL

      Franklin, MO

      Jefferson, MO

      Lincoln, MO

      St. Charles, MO

      St. Louis, MO

      St. Louis City, MO

      Warren, MO

      Sullivan City, MO 7080 Salem, OR................................................ 1.0189

      Marion, OR

      Polk, OR 7120 Salinas, CA.............................................. 1.4518

      Monterey, CA 7160 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT................................. 0.9782

      Davis, UT

      Salt Lake, UT

      Weber, UT 7200 San Angelo, TX........................................... 0.8083

      Tom Green, TX 7240 San Antonio, TX.......................................... 0.8540

      Bexar, TX

      Comal, TX

      Guadalupe, TX

      Wilson, TX 7320 San Diego, CA............................................ 1.1784

      San Diego, CA 7360 San Francisco, CA........................................ 1.4250

      Marin, CA

      San Francisco, CA

      San Mateo, CA 7400 San Jose, CA............................................. 1.3759

      Santa Clara, CA 7440 San Juan-Bayamon, PR..................................... 0.4651

      Aguas Buenas, PR

      Barceloneta, PR

      Bayamon, PR

      Canovanas, PR

      Carolina, PR

      Catano, PR

      Ceiba, PR

      Comerio, PR

      Corozal, PR

      Dorado, PR

      Fajardo, PR

      Florida, PR

      Guaynabo, PR

      Humacao, PR

      Juncos, PR

      Los Piedras, PR

      Loiza, PR

      Luguillo, PR

      Manati, PR

      Morovis, PR

      Naguabo, PR

      Naranjito, PR

      Rio Grande, PR

      San Juan, PR

      Toa Alta, PR

      Toa Baja, PR

      Trujillo Alto, PR

      Vega Alta, PR

      Vega Baja, PR

      Yabucoa, PR 7460 San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA............... 1.0673

      San Luis Obispo, CA 7480 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, CA..................... 1.0580

      Santa Barbara, CA 7485 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA............................... 1.4040

      Santa Cruz, CA 7490 Santa Fe, NM............................................. 1.0538

      Los Alamos, NM

      Santa Fe, NM 7500 Santa Rosa, CA........................................... 1.2649

      Sonoma, CA 7510 Sarasota-Bradenton, FL................................... 0.9809

      [[Page 49939]]

      Manatee, FL

      Sarasota, FL 7520 Savannah, GA............................................. 0.9601

      Bryan, GA

      Chatham, GA

      Effingham, GA 7560 Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA....................... 0.8401

      Columbia, PA

      Lackawanna, PA

      Luzerne, PA

      Wyoming, PA 7600 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA............................. 1.0985

      Island, WA

      King, WA

      Snohomish, WA 7610 Sharon, PA............................................... 0.7900

      Mercer, PA 7620 Sheboygan, WI............................................ 0.8379

      Sheboygan, WI 7640 Sherman-Denison, TX...................................... 0.8694

      Grayson, TX 7680 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA.............................. 0.8705

      Bossier, LA

      Caddo, LA

      Webster, LA 7720 Sioux City, IA-NE........................................ 0.8471

      Woodbury, IA

      Dakota, NE 7760 Sioux Falls, SD.......................................... 0.8790

      Lincoln, SD

      Minnehaha, SD 7800 South Bend, IN........................................... 0.9848

      St. Joseph, IN 7840 Spokane, WA.............................................. 1.0496

      Spokane, WA 7880 Springfield, IL.......................................... 0.8656

      Menard, IL

      Sangamon, IL 7920 Springfield, MO.......................................... 0.8484

      Christian, MO

      Greene, MO

      Webster, MO 8003 Springfield, MA.......................................... 1.0485

      Hampden, MA

      Hampshire, MA 8050 State College, PA........................................ 0.9022

      Centre, PA 8080 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV.............................. 0.8548

      Jefferson, OH

      Brooke, WV

      Hancock, WV 8120 Stockton-Lodi, CA........................................ 1.0606

      San Joaquin, CA 8140 Sumter, SC............................................... 0.8271

      Sumter, SC 8160 Syracuse, NY............................................. 0.9378

      Cayuga, NY

      Madison, NY

      Onondaga, NY

      Oswego, NY 8200 Tacoma, WA............................................... 1.1553

      Pierce, WA 8240 Tallahassee, FL.......................................... 0.8482

      Gadsden, FL

      Leon, FL 8280 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...................... 0.8960

      Hernando, FL

      Hillsborough, FL

      Pasco, FL

      Pinellas, FL 8320 Terre Haute, IN.......................................... 0.8268

      Clay, IN

      Vermillion, IN

      Vigo, IN 8360 Texarkana, AR-Texarkana, TX.............................. 0.8341

      Miller, AR

      Bowie, TX 8400 Toledo, OH............................................... 0.9742

      Fulton, OH

      Lucas, OH

      Wood, OH 8440 Topeka, KS............................................... 0.9051

      Shawnee, KS 8480 Trenton, NJ.............................................. 1.0113

      Mercer, NJ 8520 Tucson, AZ............................................... 0.8785

      Pima, AZ 8560 Tulsa, OK................................................ 0.8480

      Creek, OK

      Osage, OK

      Rogers, OK

      Tulsa, OK

      Wagoner, OK 8600 Tuscaloosa, AL........................................... 0.8064

      Tuscaloosa, AL 8640 Tyler, TX................................................ 0.9340

      Smith, TX 8680 Utica-Rome, NY........................................... 0.8547

      Herkimer, NY

      Oneida, NY 8720 Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA............................... 1.2849

      Napa, CA

      Solano, CA 8735 Ventura, CA.............................................. 1.1040

      Ventura, CA 8750 Victoria, TX............................................. 0.8154

      Victoria, TX 8760 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ......................... 1.0501

      Cumberland, NJ 8780 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA........................... 0.9551

      Tulare, CA 8800 Waco, TX................................................. 0.8253

      McLennan, TX 8840 Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV.................................. 1.0711

      District of Columbia, DC

      Calvert, MD

      Charles, MD

      Frederick, MD

      Montgomery, MD

      Prince Georges, MD

      Alexandria City, VA

      Arlington, VA

      Clarke, VA

      Culpepper, VA

      Fairfax, VA

      Fairfax City, VA

      Falls Church City, VA

      Fauquier, VA

      Fredericksburg City, VA

      King George, VA

      Loudoun, VA

      Manassas City, VA

      Manassas Park City, VA

      Prince William, VA

      Spotsylvania, VA

      Stafford, VA

      Warren, VA

      Berkeley, WV

      Jefferson, WV 8920 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA................................. 0.8404

      Black Hawk, IA 8940 Wausau, WI............................................... 0.9418

      Marathon, WI 8960 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL........................... 0.9699

      Palm Beach, FL 9000 Wheeling, OH-WV.......................................... 0.7665

      Belmont, OH

      Marshall, WV

      Ohio, WV 9040 Wichita, KS.............................................. 0.9502

      Butler, KS

      Harvey, KS

      Sedgwick, KS 9080 Wichita Falls, TX........................................ 0.7647

      Archer, TX

      Wichita, TX 9140 Williamsport, PA......................................... 0.8332

      Lycoming, PA 9160 Wilmington-Newark, DE-MD................................. 1.0826

      New Castle, DE

      Cecil, MD 9200 Wilmington, NC........................................... 0.9394

      New Hanover, NC

      Brunswick, NC 9260 Yakima, WA............................................... 0.9876

      Yakima, WA 9270 Yolo, CA................................................. 1.0199

      Yolo, CA 9280 York, PA................................................. 0.9196

      York, PA 9320 Youngstown-Warren, OH.................................... 0.9477

      Columbiana, OH

      Mahoning, OH

      Trumbull, OH 9340 Yuba City, CA............................................ 1.0706

      Sutter, CA

      Yuba, CA 9360 Yuma, AZ................................................. 0.9529

      Yuma, AZ

      Table 3B.--Wage Index for Rural Areas

      Wage Nonurban area

      index

      Alabama....................................................... 0.7483 Alaska........................................................ 1.2380 Arizona....................................................... 0.8309 Arkansas...................................................... 0.7444 California.................................................... 0.9857 Colorado...................................................... 0.8967 Connecticut................................................... 1.1715 Delaware...................................................... 0.9058 Florida....................................................... 0.8918 Georgia....................................................... 0.8326 Guam.......................................................... ........ Hawaii........................................................ 1.1053 Idaho......................................................... 0.8650 Illinois...................................................... 0.8152 Indiana....................................................... 0.8602 Iowa.......................................................... 0.8000

      [[Page 49940]]

      Kansas........................................................ 0.7574 Kentucky...................................................... 0.7921 Louisiana..................................................... 0.7655 Maine......................................................... 0.8736 Maryland...................................................... 0.8651 Massachusetts................................................. 1.1205 Michigan...................................................... 0.8969 Minnesota..................................................... 0.8864 Mississippi................................................... 0.7481 Missouri...................................................... 0.7693 Montana....................................................... 0.8679 Nebraska...................................................... 0.8055 Nevada........................................................ 0.9228 New Hampshire................................................. 0.9741 New Jersey \1\................................................ ........ New Mexico.................................................... 0.8495 New York...................................................... 0.8472 North Carolina................................................ 0.8437 North Dakota.................................................. 0.7676 Ohio.......................................................... 0.8663 Oklahoma...................................................... 0.7484 Oregon........................................................ 1.0124 Pennsylvania.................................................. 0.8535 Puerto Rico................................................... 0.4264 Rhode Island \1\.............................................. ........ South Carolina................................................ 0.8369 South Dakota.................................................. 0.7550 Tennessee..................................................... 0.7836 Texas......................................................... 0.7490 Utah.......................................................... 0.9029 Vermont....................................................... 0.9266 Virginia...................................................... 0.8181 Virgin Islands................................................ ........ Washington.................................................... 1.0422 West Virginia................................................. 0.8206 Wisconsin..................................................... 0.8865 Wyoming....................................................... 0.8805

      \1\ All counties within the State are classified urban.

      The resulting wage-adjusted labor-related portion is added to the nonlabor-related portion, resulting in a wage-adjusted payment. The following example illustrates how a Medicare fiscal intermediary would calculate the wage-adjusted Federal prospective payment for IRF services with a hypothetical Federal prospective payment of $10,000 for services provided in the rehabilitation facility located in Heartland, USA. The IRF wage index value for facilities located in Heartland, USA is 1.0234. The labor-related portion (72.395 percent) of the Federal prospective payment is $7,239.50 = ($10,000*72.395 percent), and the nonlabor related portion (27.605 percent) of the Federal prospective payment is $2,760.50 = ($10,000*27.605 percent). Therefore, the wage- adjusted payment calculation is as follows: $10,169.40 = ($7,239.50*1.0234) + $2,760.50.

    7. Examples of Computing the Total Adjusted IRF Prospective Payments

      We will adjust the Federal prospective payments, described above, to account for geographic wage variation, low-income patients and, if applicable, facilities located in rural areas.

      To illustrate the methodology that we will use for adjusting the Federal prospective payments, we provide the following example. One beneficiary is in rehabilitation facility A and another beneficiary is in rehabilitation facility B.

      Rehabilitation facility A's disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment is 5 percent, with a low-income patient (LIP) adjustment of 1.0239 and a wage index of 0.987, and the facility is located in a rural area.

      Rehabilitation facility B's DSH is 15 percent, with a LIP adjustment of 1.0700 and a wage index of 1.234, and the facility is located in an urban area. Both Medicare beneficiaries are classified to CMG 0111 (without comorbidities). This CMG represents a stroke with motor scores in the 27 to 33 range and the patient is between 82 and 88 years old. To calculate each IRF's total adjusted Federal prospective payment, we compute the wage-adjusted Federal prospective payment and multiply the result by the appropriate DSH adjustment and the rural adjustment (if applicable). The following table illustrates the components of the adjusted payment calculation.

      Table 4.--Examples of Computing an IRF's Federal Prospective Payment

      Facility A

      Facility B

      Federal Prospective Payment.........

      $20,570.81

      $20,570.81 Labor Share.........................

      x .72395

      x .72395

      Labor Portion of Federal Payment = $14,892.24 = $14,892.24

      Wage Index......................

      x 0.987

      x 1.234

      Wage-Adjusted Amount................ = $14,698.64 = $18,377.02 Non-Labor Amount.................... + $5,678.57 + $5,678.57

      Wage-Adjusted Federal Payment...

      $20,377.21

      $24,055.59

      Rural Adjustment................

      x 1.1914

      x 1.0000

      Subtotal........................ = $24,277.41 = $24,055.59 DSH Adjustment......................

      x 1.0239

      x 1.0700

      Total Adjusted Federal

      = $24,857.64 = $25,739.48 Prospective Payment............

      Thus, the adjusted payment for facility A will be $24,857.64, and the adjusted payment for facility B will be $25,739.48. Computing Total Payments Under the IRF PPS for the Transition Period

      Section 1886(j)(1) of the Act and Sec. 412.626 describe how to compute a facility's payment during a transition period. Under the transition period, the prospective payment amount consists of a portion of the amount the facility would have been paid if the PPS had not been implemented (the facility-specific payment) and a portion of the adjusted Federal prospective payment. Under Sec. 412.626, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after January 1,

      [[Page 49941]]

      2002 and before October 1, 2002, payment would consist of 33\1/3\ percent of the amount of the facility-specific payment and 66\2/3\ percent of the IRF adjusted Federal prospective payment. For cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2002, payment would be 100 percent of the adjusted Federal prospective payment.

      Section 305(b)(1)(C) of the BIPA added section 1886(j)(1)(F) to the Act, which allows an IRF to elect to be paid 100 percent of the adjusted Federal prospective payment for each cost reporting period to which the blended payment methodology would otherwise apply. This provision of the BIPA is effective as though it were included upon enactment of the BBA.

      The FY 2003 IRF PPS rates set forth in this notice will apply to all discharges on or after October 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2003. Payment for IRFs with cost reporting periods under the transition methodology will consist of 66\2/3\ percent of the FY 2003 Federal prospective payment and 33\1/3\ percent of the facility-specific payment. Payment for IRFs that elected not to be paid under the transition methodology will consist of 100 percent of the FY 2003 Federal prospective payment. Payment for IRFs with cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2003 will consist of 100 percent of the FY 2003 Federal prospective payment.

      Based on the information used to develop the impact analysis for the August 7, 2001 final rule, we estimate that 48 percent of the IRFs have elected not to be paid under the transition payment methodology. Since the implementation of the IRF PPS, the number of these facilities has increased. Currently, there are approximately 1,181 Medicare certified IRFs. Using the above percentage, we estimate that 567 IRFs have elected not to be paid under the transition payment methodology.

  3. Future Updates

    Medicare payments to IRFs are based on a predetermined national payment rate per discharge. Annual updates to these payment rates are required by section 1886(j)(3)(C) of the Act. These updates are based on increases to the IRF market basket amount. For FY 2003, the update is established at the market basket amount. The IRF market basket, or input price index, developed by our Office of the Actuary (OACT), is just one component in determining a change to the IRF cost per discharge amount. It captures only the pure price change of inputs (labor, materials, and capital) used by an IRF to produce a constant quantity and quality of care. Other factors also contribute to the change in costs per discharge, which include changes in case-mix, intensity, and productivity.

    An update framework, used in combination with the market basket, seeks to enhance the system for updating payments by addressing factors beyond changes in pure input price. Such a framework has been used under the inpatient hospital PPS for years by both CMS and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).

    In general, an update framework in the context of the IRF PPS would provide a tool for measuring and understanding changes in cost per discharge. This has the potential to support the continued accuracy of IRF payments and ensure that the IRF PPS keeps pace with changing economic and health care market trends. Accordingly, we are examining the potential for developing and using an update framework under the IRF PPS. It has the potential to provide information useful to policy makers in determining the magnitude of the annual updates.

  4. Collection of Information Requirements

    The current Medicare patient assessment requirements under the IRF PPS are based on section 1886 (j)(2)(D) of the Act and subpart P of section 412 of the regulations. We published the requirements of the IRF patient assessment instrument (PAI) in the August 7, 2001 final rule. Subsequent to the publication of the final rule OMB approved the use of the IRF PAI with modifications that reduced the number of required items to be completed. These requirements will remain in effect for FY 2003 and are not being changed by the updates set forth in this notice.

    Section 412.604(c) of the regulations requires an IRF to complete the IRF PAI for each Medicare fee-for-service patient who is admitted to or discharged (or who stopped receiving Medicare Part A inpatient rehabilitation services) from the IRF on or after January 1, 2002. Section 412.606(c) requires that an IRF clinician perform a comprehensive, accurate, standardized, and reproducible assessment of each Medicare fee-for-service patient using the CMS IRF patient assessment instrument as part of his or her assessment. The assessment must include direct patient observation and communication with the patient, and, when appropriate and to the extent feasible, patient data from the patient's physician(s), family, someone personally knowledgeable about the patient's clinical condition or capabilities, the patient's clinical record, and other sources. Section 412.610(c) of the regulations provides for an assessment upon admission, an assessment upon discharge, and, if the patient is not discharged but stops receiving Medicare Part A covered inpatient rehabilitation services, an assessment at the time he or she stops receiving these services. Section 412.614 of the regulations requires an IRF to encode and transmit the IRF PAI patient data electronically to CMS. The total time necessary to complete and administer all required items of the IRF PAI is estimated to be 269,250 hours. These information collection requirements associated with the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System are currently approved by OMB through July 31, 2005 under OMB number 0938-0842. As we previously stated in this section, we are not proposing any changes to these requirements in this notice.

  5. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    We ordinarily publish a proposed notice in the Federal Register to provide a period for public comment before the provisions of a notice such as this take effect. We can waive this procedure, however, if we find good cause that a notice-and-comment procedure is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest and we incorporate a statement of finding and its reasons in the notice issued. We find it is unnecessary to undertake notice and comment rulemaking as the statute requires annual updates, and this notice does not make any substantive changes in policy, but merely reflects the application of previously established methodologies. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), for good cause, we waive notice and comment procedures.

  6. Regulatory Impact Analysis

    1. Introduction

      The August 7, 2001 final rule established the IRF PPS for the payment of Medicare services for cost reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2002. We incorporated a number of elements into the IRF PPS, such as case-level adjustments, a wage adjustment, an adjustment for the percentage of low-income patients, a rural adjustment, and outlier payments. This notice sets forth updates of the IRF PPS rates contained in the August 7, 2001 final rule.

      The purpose of this notice is not to initiate policy changes with regard to the IRF PPS; rather, it is to provide an update to the IRF payment rates for discharges during FY 2003. While the

      [[Page 49942]]

      updates set forth in this notice will have a positive effect upon all IRFs, some providers may experience decreases in payments. Specifically, a decrease in an IRF's FY 2003 payments compared to its FY 2002 payments is the result of the effects of eliminating, as required by section 1886(j)(1) of the BBA, the blended payments and transitioning to the full Federal PPS rates, and not the result of the update to the payment rates set forth in this notice.

      In constructing these impacts, we do not attempt to predict behavioral responses, and we do not make adjustments for future changes in such variables as discharges or case-mix. We note that certain events may combine to limit the scope or accuracy of our impact analysis, because such an analysis is future-oriented and, thus, susceptible to forecasting errors due to other changes in the forecasted impact time period. Some examples of such possible events are newly legislated general Medicare program funding changes by the Congress, or changes specifically related to IRFs. In addition, changes to the Medicare program may continue to be made as a result of the BBA, the BBRA, the BIPA, or new statutory provisions. Although these changes may not be specific to the IRF PPS, the nature of the Medicare program is such that the changes may interact, and the complexity of the interaction of these changes could make it difficult to predict accurately the full scope of the impact upon IRFs.

      We have examined the impacts of this rule as required by Executive Order 12866 (September 1993, Regulatory Planning and Review), the Regulatory lexibility Act (RFA) and Impact on Small Hospitals (September 16, 1980, Pub. L. 96-354), section 1102(b) of the Social Security Act, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4), and Executive Order 13132. 1. Executive Order 12866

      Executive Order 12866 directs agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). A regulatory impact analysis (RIA) must be prepared for major rules with economically significant effects ($100 million or more annually).

      We estimate that the cost to the Medicare program for IRF services in FY 2003 will increase by $15 million over FY 2002 levels. This increase is due to the combined effect of the changes to the IRF payment rates from FY 2002 to FY 2003, including an increase in overall payments of $150 million (attributed to the 3 percent increase), and a decrease in overall payments of $135 million due to the transition to 100 percent of the IRF Federal payment rates. Because the cost to the Medicare program is less than $100 million, this notice is not considered a major rule as defined above. 2. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and Impact on Small Hospitals

      The RFA requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of our regulations on small entities. If we determine that the regulation will impose a significant burden on a substantial number of small entities, we must examine options for reducing the burden. For purposes of the RFA, small entities include small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and governmental agencies. Most hospitals are considered small entities, either by nonprofit status or by having receipts of $6 million to $29 million in any 1 year. (For details, see the Small Business Administration's regulation that set forth size standards for health care industries at 65 FR 69432.) Because we lack data on individual hospital receipts, we cannot determine the number of small proprietary IRFs. Therefore, we assume that all IRFs are considered small entities for the purpose of the analysis that follows. Medicare fiscal intermediaries and carriers are not considered to be small entities. Individuals and States are not included in the definition of a small entity.

      This notice establishes a 3 percent increase to the Federal PPS rates. Although, as illustrated in Table 5, the combined effects of this update and the elimination of blended payments under the transition to the full Federal PPS rates results in a net decrease in aggregate Medicare payments to IRFs in FY 2003, the decreases associated with the transition's expiration are not a result of this notice, but rather, are specifically mandated in existing legislation. In addition, we do not expect an incremental increase of 3 percent to the Medicare Federal rates to have a significant effect on the overall revenues of IRFs. Most IRFs are units of hospitals that provide many different types of services (for example, acute care, outpatient services) and the rehabilitation component of their business is relatively minor in comparison. In addition, IRFs provide services to (and generate revenues from) patients other than Medicare beneficiaries. Accordingly, we certify that this notice will not have a significant impact on small entities.

      Section 1102(b) of the Act requires us to prepare a regulatory impact analysis for any notice that will have a significant impact on the operations of a substantial number of small rural hospitals. This analysis must conform to the provisions of section 604 of the RFA. For purposes of section 1102(b) of the Act, we define a small rural hospital as a hospital that is located outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and has fewer than 100 beds.

      This notice will not have a significant impact on the operations of small rural hospitals. As indicated above, this notice establishes a 3 percent increase to the Federal PPS rates. While the combined effects of this update and the elimination of blended payments under the transition to the full Federal PPS rates results in a net decrease in aggregate Medicare payments in FY 2003, the decreases associated with the transition's expiration are not a result of this notice, but again, are specifically mandated in existing legislation. In addition, we do not expect an incremental increase of 3 percent to the Federal rates to have a significant effect on overall revenues or operations since most rural hospitals provide many different types of services (for example, acute care, outpatient services) and the rehabilitation component of their business is relatively minor in comparison. Accordingly, we certify that this notice will not have a significant impact on the operations small rural hospitals. 3. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

      Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 also requires that agencies assess anticipated costs and benefits before issuing any rule that may result in an expenditure in any 1 year by State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of at least $110 million. This notice will not have an effect on the governments mentioned nor will it affect private sector costs. 4. Executive Order 13132

      We examined this notice in accordance with Executive Order 13132 and determined that it will not have any negative impact on the rights, roles, or responsibilities of State, local, or tribal governments. 5. Overall Impact

      For the reasons stated above, we have prepared an analysis under the RFA and section 1102(b) of the Act because we have determined that this notice will not have a significant impact on small

      [[Page 49943]]

      entities or the operations of small rural hospitals.

    2. Anticipated Effects of the Notice

      We discuss below the impacts of this notice on the Federal budget and on IRFs. 1. Budgetary Impact

      Section 1886(j)(3)(C) of the Act requires annual updates to the IRF PPS payment rates. We project that updating the IRF PPS for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2003 will cost the Medicare program $15 million. The budgetary impact is the result of the combined effects associated with the payment updates and the effect of IRFs transitioning from the phase-in of the implementation payment rates to the full Federal IRF PPS payment rates. 2. Impact on Providers

      For the impact analyses shown in the August 7, 2001 final rule, we simulate payments for 1,024 facilities. To construct the impact analyses set forth in this notice, we use the latest available data. These data are the same data that were used in constructing the impact analyses displayed in the August 7, 2001 final rule. Table 5, Projected Impact of FY 2003 Update to the IRF PPS, which appears in section V.B.4 of this notice, reflects the estimated monetary changes among the various classifications of IRFs for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2003. 3. Calculation of the Estimated FY 2002 IRF Prospective Payments

      To estimate payments under the IRF PPS for FY 2002, we multiplied each facility's case-mix index by the facility's number of Medicare discharges, the budget neutral conversion factor, the applicable wage index, a low-income patient adjustment, and a rural adjustment (if applicable). The adjustments include the following:

      The wage adjustment, calculated as follows: (.27605 + (.72395 x Wage Index)).

      The disproportionate share adjustment, calculated as follows:

      (1 + Disproportionate Share Percentage) raised to the power of .4838).

      The rural adjustment, if applicable, calculated by multiplying payments by 1.1914.

      After calculating the Federal rate payments for each facility, we blended together the appropriate percentages of the current payments (see discussion in August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41368 through 41369)) and the new Federal rate payments to determine the appropriate amount for the first year of implementation of the IRF PPS. Specifically, to calculate payments for an IRF with a cost reporting period beginning on or after January 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2002, we combine 33\1/3\ percent of the facility's historical payment amount with 66\2/3\ percent of the new Federal rate payment amount. However, for those providers that would have received higher payments under 100 percent of the IRF PPS than they would have if the system had not been in effect, we simulated their payments as though they chose not to be paid under the transition payment methodology. (We estimated that 48 percent of the IRFs have elected not to be paid under the transition payment methodology.) 4. Calculation of the Estimated FY 2003 IRF Prospective Payments

      To calculate FY 2003 payments, we use the payment rates described in this notice that reflect the 3 percent market basket increase factor. Further, we use the same facility level adjustments described above. The impacts also reflect the transition to the fully phased-in IRF prospective payments.

      Table 5 illustrates the aggregate impact of the estimated FY 2003 updated payments among the various classifications of facilities compared to the estimated IRF PPS payment rates applicable for FY 2002.

      The first column, Facility Classifications, identifies the type of facility. The second column identifies the number of facilities for each classification type, and the third column lists the number of cases. The fourth column reflects the effect of IRFs transitioning from the phase-in of the implementation payment rates to the full Federal IRF PPS payment rates, and the last column reflects the combined changes including the update to the FY 2002 payment rates by 3 percent.

      Table 5.--Projected Impact of FY 2003 Update to the IRF PPS

      Number of Number of Transition Total change Facility classifications

      facilities

      cases

      (percent) (percent)

      Total...........................................

      1,024

      347,809

      -2.6

      0.3 Urban unit......................................

      725

      206,926

      -2.5

      0.5 Rural unit......................................

      131

      26,507

      -2.2

      0.7 Urban freestanding hospital.....................

      156

      109,691

      -2.8

      0.1 Rural freestanding hospital.....................

      12

      4,685

      -5.3

      -2.5 Total urban.....................................

      881

      316,617

      -2.6

      0.4 Total rural.....................................

      143

      31,192

      -2.8

      0.2

      Urban By Region

      New England.....................................

      32

      15,039

      -2.1

      0.8 Middle Atlantic.................................

      133

      64,042

      -2.3

      0.7 South Atlantic..................................

      112

      52,980

      -2.2

      0.8 East North Central..............................

      171

      55,071

      -2.6

      0.3 East South Central..............................

      41

      23,434

      -1.7

      1.2 West North Central..............................

      70

      18,087

      -2.2

      0.7 West South Central..............................

      154

      52,346

      -4.2

      -1.3 Mountain........................................

      56

      14,655

      -2.2

      0.8 Pacific.........................................

      112

      20,963

      -2.2

      0.7

      Rural By Region

      New England.....................................

      4

      829

      -3.9

      -1.1 Middle Atlantic.................................

      10

      2,424

      -1.0

      1.9 South Atlantic..................................

      20

      6,192

      -1.1

      1.9 East North Central..............................

      29

      5,152

      -2.8

      0.1

      [[Page 49944]]

      East South Central..............................

      10

      3,590

      -4.6

      -1.8 West North Central..............................

      22

      3,820

      -1.8

      1.1 West South Central..............................

      32

      7,317

      -4.3

      -1.4 Mountain........................................

      9

      1,042

      -0.9

      2.1 Pacific.........................................

      7

      826

      -3.4

      -0.5

      As Table 5 illustrates, all IRFs will benefit from the 3 percent market basket increase that is applied to FY 2002 IRF PPS payment rates to develop the FY 2003 rates. However, the overall increase in payments to IRFs is diminished to 0.3 percent due to the effect of IRFs transitioning from the phased-in implementation payment rates to the full Federal IRF PPS payment rates.

      The estimated negative impacts displayed in this notice are due to the effect of section 1886(j)(1) of the Act that requires the elimination of the blended payments and transition to the full Federal PPS rate. The fourth column in Table 5 shows this change in estimated payments has an overall negative impact of 2.6 percent. This negative impact is due to the assumption used to develop the impact analyses. We assume that IRFs that would profit more under a fully Federal IRF PPS payment rate than under the blend methodology would have already opted to be paid 100 percent of the FY 2002 IRF PPS payment. Therefore, we presume that those IRFs that did not elect to be paid the full Federal IRF PPS payment rates did so because they would receive more payment under the blended method. Consequently, we believe the remaining IRFs that are transitioning from the blended payment to the full FY 2003 IRF PPS payment, are estimated to profit less than they would have if they were not paid under 100 percent of the Federal rate. This estimated effect is not due to the changes set forth in this notice, rather the impact is the result of the statutory requirements of section 1886(j)(1) of the Act that stipulates payment for IRFs with cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2002 will consist of 100 percent of the IRF PPS Federal prospective payment.

      The estimated impact changes displayed in Table 5 need to be viewed in light of the limitations of the data we are able to present. Specifically, these impacts are based on historical data that do not reflect any changes resulting from the implementation of the IRF PPS. In general, the IRF PPS creates incentives for IRFs to reduce costs. As a result, IRF costs per case should be less than they would have been before the implementation of the IRF PPS. Because of this, we believe impacts would be more favorable to IRFs if we were able to compare estimated FY 2003 IRF costs to FY 2003 IRF payments rather than estimated FY 2002 IRF payments to FY 2003 payments.

      In the August 7, 2001 final rule (66 FR 41359) we set forth the methodology for adjusting payments for IRFs located in rural areas. For these facilities, the IRF PPS payment rates are increased by 19.14 percent. This adjustment will remain in effect and continue to protect these facilities from being unduly harmed. Therefore, the impacts shown reflect the rural adjustment that is designed to minimize or eliminate the negative impact that the IRF PPS may otherwise have on rural facilities.

      To summarize, all facilities will receive a favorable 3 percent increase in their unadjusted IRF PPS payments. The estimated negative impact among some of the classes of IRFs reflected in Table 5 are due to the effect of the existing statutory provision (to transition from the blended payment to the full Federal IRF PPS payment rate) rather than the updates set forth in this notice.

      In accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 12866, this notice was reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

      Authority: Section 1886(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(j)).

      (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773 Medicare--Hospital Insurance)

      Dated: July 11, 2002. Thomas A. Scully, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

      Dated: July 19, 2002. Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary.

      [FR Doc. 02-19468Filed7-31-02; 8:45 am]

      BILLING CODE 4120-01-P

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