Home Health & Hospice Week
STAY TUNED TO CLEAR UP CLAIMS QUESTIONS
The feds are holding their ground on the Jan. 1 start date for major changes to hospice billing--but don't abandon all hope.
Stakeholders including the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice met Oct. 2 with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to request an implementation delay until Jan. 1, 2009.
"NHPCO has been working diligently to obtain concessions and delays," Mary Michal, attorney with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren in Madison, WI, tells Eli.
So far, CMS is saying only that it will address providers' concerns by expanding a Q & A document available at www.cms.hhs.gov/center/hospice.asp.
"We will try our best to address all questions," said CMS' Terry Deutsch at the recent Home Health, DME and Hospice Open Door Forum. Topping the list of concerns is how to define "visit" for around-the-clock care, said Deutsch.
Resource: To see a sample letter you can use to let CMS know that you are concerned about the new reporting requirements, go to www.hpcanys.org/public_policy.asp and selection "Federal Regulation" and then "Sample Letter."
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
HIPPS CODES INCREASE 1100% UNDER PPS REFINEMENTS
Can you handle 1,836 new HIPPS code?
Home health agencies are doing [...] - Pay For Performance:
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE DEMO TO LAUNCH IN 7 STATES
Test P4P program slated to start Jan. 1.
Home health agencies in seven states will have [...] - Competitive Bidding:
FOR BIDDERS, NEW GAME MAY BE 'WAIT-AND-SEE'
Round one may be a knock-out for beneficiaries, experts predict.
The feds remain mum about how [...] - Hospice:
STAY TUNED TO CLEAR UP CLAIMS QUESTIONS
Tip: Count only visits for direct care.
The feds are holding their ground on the Jan. [...] - Studies & Surveys:
TAP THIS REPORT FOR HOSPICE PLANNING INSIGHTS
Alaskans lag in hospice admissions.
A new national study could help you market your hospice services [...] - Education:
MASTER THE PPS FINAL RULE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
Register for these audioconferences on PPS billing and therapy. You have about two months to [...] - Industry Notes:
THE WAIT IS OVER--OASIS FORM FOR PPS REVISIONS FINALLY AVAILABLE
Get used to the changes that you'll have to use as early as Dec. 27.
You [...]
