Home Health & Hospice Week

Watch for this year's new claims edits to keep hospice reimbursement flowing. This year has been a busy one for new hospice claim requirements. From itemizing visits to tracking social work phone calls and line item billing for levels of care, if you aren't reporting the details correctly, you could be risking denials. 1. Itemize visits per day in billing. The year began with change request 6440 which was effective for service dates on or after Jan. 1. This new claim requirement changed the way hospice visits are reported, requiring line item billing of visits for all service disciplines (nursing, medical social services, and aides) in 15-minute increments, rather than on a weekly basis, says M. Aaron Little with BKD in Springfield, Mo. Each visit on a particular day must now be listed individually, Little says. Plus, you must now bill for therapy services performed by direct staff and contract [...]