Home Health & Hospice Week

Don't miss the newest instructions from the feds on how to accurately comply with hospice claims reporting requirements.

In a new set of questions and answers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified how to report time on hospice claims, said CMS's Katie Lucas in the Dec. 2 Open Door Forum for home care providers.

For example: When a social worker makes a phone call as part of a patient visit, do not report that call on the claim. "Only report phone calls that are not made during a reportable visit," CMSexplains in a Q&A posted to its Web site Nov. 20.

Hospices should report documentation time as part of their visit, however, CMS says in a separate Q&A. "Documentation time (such as the updating of medical records) which occurs during, and as part of, an otherwise covered and billable visit to a patient can be included in the time reported for the visit," the Q&A says. "Documentation time which occurs outside the context of such a visit is not reportable."

Resource: For a link to the Q&As, go to CMS's hospice Web site online at www.cms.hhs.gov/center/hospice.asp.

Other hospice issues addressed in the forum include:

• Ambulance coverage. If you've been hoping for final word from the feds on hospice coverage of ambulance services on the date of hospice election, prepare to put your hopes on hold.

CMS has received inquiries about the issue,said CMS's Randy Throndset in the Dec. 2 Open Door Forum for home care providers. "CMS is looking at this issue carefully," Throndset told callers.

But don't expect an answer right away. The agency "expects to come out hopefully some time in calendar year 2010 with a CR addressing the issue," Throndset continued.

CMS recognizes the issue is important, Throndset reassured providers. "The issue has not fallen between the cracks," he said. "CMS is working toward a solution."

• Claims holdup. A nagging claims problem has been resolved, reported CMS's Wil Gehne. Hospice claims were suspending in error to location "SMHOSP," but the problem was set to be corrected Dec. 7.

• Stats. CMS has posted statistical information for the past 10 years on its Web site at www.cms.hhs.gov/center/hospice.asp, Lucas pointed out.The information in the zipped file includes length of stay trends over time, by diagnosis.