Industry Note:
CMS To Base ACH Rate On Claims Data -- Not OASIS
Published on Thu Jul 19, 2012
Don't be surprised to see your acute care hospitalization (ACH) outcome data change. CMS plans to use claims data to calculate that figure for display on the Home Health Compare website, rather than continuing the current method of using OASIS data, CMS says in the home health prospective payment system proposed rule published in the July 13 Federal Register."Claims data are a more robust source of data for accurately measuring acute care hospitalizations than other data sources," CMS maintains. However, CMS has to work out some technical issues with the Home Health Compare files before it will post the claims-based figure. Until then, CMS will continue to display the OASIS-based figure.CMS appears to plan to use claims data for the "Emergency Department Use Without Hospitali-zation" measure as well, the proposed rule indicates.