On February 1, 2017, a judge in the so-called Jimmo case ordered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to enter into a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The CAP requires CMS to provide more education about the addition of a coverage standard for maintenance therapy. That is, CMS is required to provide additional education to providers regarding the fact that improvement is not required in order to be eligible for Medicare coverage for skilled care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), home health agencies (HHAs), outpatient therapy centers and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals.
The latest ruling is based on a ruling in the Jimmo case on August 17, 2016, in which the Court found that CMS did not comply with part of the Settlement Agreement entered into in 2013 that required CMS to engage in a nationwide education plan regarding the revised standard of coverage. Advocates for Medicare beneficiaries in the case claimed that the educational campaign conducted by CMS "was so confusing and inadequate that little had changed." They concluded that the educational campaign to date had not been "adequate, timely, or complete."
