Home Health & Hospice Week

Don’t automatically opt for later deadline.

Deadline relief from the Medicare program is always good news, and the recent cost report filing delay is no exception.

Reminder: HHH Medicare Administrative Contractors CGS, Palmetto GBA, and National Government Services say on their websites that the filing deadline for fiscal years ending Oct.31, 2019 and Nov.30, 2019 is now June 30, 2020 — pushed from March 31 and April 30, respectively. The more common Dec.31 fiscal year-end now has a July 31 cost report due date, pushed back from June 1.

NGS was slower to announce the delay for its providers than the other MACs.But it was largely assumed it would happen, if only for continuity for multi-state agencies served by multiple MACs, says industry veteran Tom Boyd with Simione Healthcare Consultants in Rohnert Park, California.

The delay is automatic, so home health and hospice agencies don’t have to do anything special to request it, notes cost report expert Dave Macke with Von Lehman & Co. in Fort Wright, Kentucky.

For providers that are disrupted by COVID-19 patients, remote workers, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model, the Review Choice Demonstration, and more, the extension is welcome, Macke says. This is the first nationwide cost report extension that he can remember, he adds. Previous exceptions have been for localized disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes.

“The extensions do offer welcome relief for those providers struggling to manage operations during the current public health crisis,” acknowledges M. Aaron Little with BKD in Springfield, Missouri. But they shouldn’t necessarily be automatic.

“The public health crisis has not impacted all organizations in the same way, and there are those who may find they have staff who have excess capacity,” Little notes.“Such organizations could benefit by using those staff to accumulate the information necessary” to file sooner than required.

Some providers may have their cost report information mostly organized and want to finish it up now, because they may end up more disrupted down the line, Macke offers.

Earlier filing will help avoid the inevitable crush of reports that will be going to MACs at the end of July, Macke adds.“The sooner, the better,” he concludes. If you’re not facing COVID-19 problems, “let’s keep moving on it,” he advises.