This prospective payment system is designed specifically for which type of facility?

The prospective payment system designed specifically for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) is the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS). This payment system was established to provide a predetermined payment amount to IRFs based on the patient's diagnosis, the intensity of services required, and the settings in which care is provided. The IRF PPS includes a classification system called the Rehabilitation Impairment Categories (RICs) that helps determine the payment by grouping patients with similar clinical characteristics and need for rehabilitation services.

The primary goal of this system is to streamline payments, ensuring that facilities are compensated fairly based on the resources utilized and the care provided. This focuses on achieving better patient outcomes and incentivizes facilities to deliver efficient and effective rehabilitation services.

While other types of facilities have their own distinct payment systems—for example, skilled nursing facilities operate under a different model (SNF PPS), home health agencies receive payments through the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS), and long-term acute care hospitals utilize the LTCH PPS—the IRF PPS is specifically tailored to address the needs and functionalities of inpatient rehabilitation, thus validating that option B is the correct answer.