Industry Note:
Hospice Cap Selection Deadline Up In The Air
Published on Wed Sep 14, 2011
Give your hospice cap methodology selection careful thought, because doing nothing may be your best bet at the moment. CMS is giving hospices the choice of picking their cap calculation methodology this year. Hospices can choose between the current "streamlined" cap calculation and the new way, under which the hospice's beneficiary count will be prorated between years the bene is on service. CMS said it would issue its instructions for how to elect a new methodology in September, but it hadn't done so yet at press time. Don't jump the gun and contact your Medicare Administrative Contractor yet, one MAC is telling hospices. "Please be aware that there is not a requirement to notify our office by September 30, 2011, of your hospice cap calculation method," Palmetto GBA says in a message to providers. "Palmetto GBA is currently awaiting final instructions from CMS regarding the process to submit your choice [...]