Home Health & Hospice Week

Home care and hospice providers hit hard by Hurricane Michael are getting some regulatory relief from Medicare.

With a Public Health Emergency declared in both Florida and Georgia, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services “has taken several actions to provide immediate relief to those impacted by the hurricane,” CMS says in a release. Among the blanket waivers in Florida and Georgia are “484.20(c)(1): This waiver provides relief to Home Health Agencies on the timeframes related to OASIS Transmission,” CMS says on its Hurricane Michael response website.

Also: The waiver “allows MACs to extend the auto-cancellation date of Requests for Anticipated Payment (RAPs) during emergencies,” CMS says.

And CMS “ will suspend current survey and enforcement activities for healthcare facilities in the affected areas of Florida, but will continue to investigate allegations of immediate threat to patient health and safety,” the agency adds.

More details are in an MLN Matters article about the waivers at www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE18021.pdf.

Plus: The HHS Office of Inspector General is also involved in hurricane relief efforts, the OIG reminds providers. “HHS OIG is one of many agencies the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) calls upon to respond to major disasters,” the agency says. “As part of the Government’s coordinated emergency response efforts, a team of OIG’s special agents may deploy to provide leadership, equipment, expertise, security, and other support.”

OIG responsibilities include evacuation assistance, facility and resource security, including securing shelters for displaced residents, search and rescue operations, and delivery of food, water, and medical supplies, the watchdog agency points out at https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/featured-topics/emergency.

And of course, “following a major disaster, HHS OIG may also conduct audits and evaluations of emergency preparedness and response operations,” it says.