Home Health & Hospice Week

Contact your MAC, not ASPEN coordinator.re

The Hospice Compare site launched last fall has its share of inaccuracies, but they aren't all Medicare's fault.

Old way: Hospice Compare displays incorrect demographic data if providers don't have accurate information in the Automated Survey Processing Environment (ASPEN) system. Previously, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services advised hospices to get that information corrected by contacting their ASPEN coordinator (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XXVII, No. 1).

New way: Now, CMS tells hospices "to contact their Medicare Administrative Contractor for assistance," according to a message to providers.

However, "when requesting updates to your demographic data, it is important to specify that you want your data within the ASPEN system updated, in-stead of referring to your data on the Hospice Compare site."

As before, updated data may not appear on Hospice Compare for up to six months, CMS acknowledges.

Meanwhile: The glitch that returns incorrect results for a geographic search continues, but CMS says it's not ignoring the problem. "We're working to improve the data used to power the search over the next several months," CMS says. And "since hospices report the data on the Compare website, we're working with hospice agencies to ensure that the data they're reporting to CMS is accurate and current."

Access tip sheets for users and providers and an updated demographic correction how-to tool in the "Downloads" box at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality-Reporting/Hospice-Quality-Public-Reporting-Background-and-Announcements.html.