Home Health & Hospice Week

Home care providers fighting to serve patients in flooded areas are receiving some much-needed regulatory relief.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has designated Iowa and Indiana flood areas as public emergencies.

"The flooding in Iowa and Indiana is devastating to each individual and to their communities," Leavitt says in a release. "This designation will allow HHS to immediately assist our beneficiaries and providers in the areas where hospitals and other health care delivery systems have been disrupted."

For evacuated beneficiaries, "the normal burden of documentation will be waived and ... they can act under a presumption of eligibility," HHS says.

"In emergencies such as this, CMS has the flexibility to ensure that vital health care services can be maintained and utilized," says Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. "Many of the agency's normal operating procedures will be relaxed to speed provision of health care services to the elderly and persons with disabilities who depend upon these services."

OASIS exceptions for qualified flood-area residents include abbreviating the Start of Care assessment to include only the patient tracking sheet and the payment items; shortening the Resumption of Care assessment and the Recertification to the payment items; and suspending Discharge and Transfer assessments during the waiver period.

"HHAs should maintain adequate documentation to support provision of care and payment," the National Association for Home Care & Hospice advises.

"The rapid response by CMS regarding permissible deviations from certain regulations is a very good sign that the federal government recognizes that regulatory relief is necessary for providers to effectively handle emergency situations," NAHC praises.

Other relaxed requirements include those on patient residency, billing, payment and HIPAA, NAHC notes. More information is at www.cms.hhs.gov/emergency/20_midwestflooding.asp.