Home Health & Hospice Week

Don’t waste time and effort on filing unnecessary hospice Notices of Termination/Revocation when you don’t have to, one HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor says.

Tip: “Do not submit both a final claim and an NOTR,” advises MAC CGS in a Jan. 17 post to its website. “If you submit the final claim within 5 days after discharge/revocation, an NOTR does not need to be submitted.”

Plus: “If your NOTR goes to the Return to Provider (RTP) file, but you have already submitted the final claim, there is no need to correct the NOTR from the RTP file,” CGS adds. “You may suppress the view of the NOTR.”

You do need to submit an NOTR if you fail to file the final claim by five days after discharge or revocation, CGS reminds hospices. Why? You must “promptly update the beneficiary’s eligibility record to ensure they have access to medical care,” the MAC stresses.

Watch out: Don’t think you are in the clear the second you submit the notice. “Remember to review the Return to Provider (RTP) status/location T B9997 often to make any necessary corrections to NOTRs,” CGS advises. “When an NOTR goes to the RTP file, it is not considered to be a submitted NOTR until it is corrected and moves out of the RTP status/location.”