News release: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued a final rule establishing fiscal year (FY) 2011 policies and payment rates for inpatient services furnished to people with Medicare by acute care hospitals, long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), and certain excluded hospitals. Due to the timing of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the “Affordable Care Act”), CMS issued a FY 2011 IPPS/LTCH proposed rule, as well as a supplemental proposed rule that addressed certain changes made by the Affordable Care Act..The final rule applies to approximately 3,500 acute care hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), and approximately 420 long-term care hospitals paid under the LTCH Prospective Payment System (PPS), for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2010. It also updates the rate-of-increase limits for certain hospitals excluded from the IPPS that are paid on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits. The updated rate-of-increase limits are effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2010.”