Last week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Tom Scully briefed Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson on the provisions in the agency's final regulation on the 75% rule for inpatient rehabilitation facilities. As Skyline News went to press, the outcome of the meeting was unknown, but Secretary Thompson must approve the regulation before it can be promulgated for implementation. CMS had originally hoped to publish a final rule by December 1, 2003, for implementation on January 1, 2004, but was unable to complete the regulatory process in order to do so. At the December 2003 CMS Hospital Open Door Forum, a monthly conference call that CMS holds with providers, Administrator Scully announced that if publication of the rule were significantly delayed, the agency would instruct its fiscal intermediaries to reinstitute enforcement of the current 75% rule beginning on January 1, 2004. GNYHA will continue its vigorous advocacy for significant changes to the 75% rule through both regulatory and legislative efforts, and will keep its members apprised of any developments.