Partners HealthCare, trying to prevent steep declines in Medicare payments to its Massachusetts hospitals, is  urgently urging CMS to use corrected data that the Boston-based system submitted for 19-bed Nantucket (Mass.) Cottage Hospital.

As Becker’s Hospital Review notes: “Under hospital payment rules, Medicare is required to reimburse employee wages at urban hospitals at the baseline set at rural hospitals in the state. Nantucket Cottage Hospital typically sets the floor for wages at hospitals across Massachusetts because it is the only rural hospital in the state. However, that isn’t the case this year.”

“Consultants hired by Partners made several errors in the data Nantucket Cottage Hospital submitted to Medicare. The errors reduced the hourly wage rate by overestimating hours and failing to include enough overtime pay and high-paid physician hours. Due to the mistakes, Massachusetts hospitals could lose a total of $160 million in Medicare funding next year. ”