Home Health & Hospice Week

Watch for a forthcoming CMS transmittal on how to handle hospice billing when the face-to-face physician encounter hasn't taken place as required.

Hospices are very confused about how to handle billing when the third-benefit period F2F encounter slips through the cracks, said one hospice caller in the May 25 Open Door Forum for home care providers. Hospices can't seem to get clear  answers from their Medicare contractors on the issue either, she said.

CMS has received questions on this topic and is working on CR transmittal addressing the issue, reported CMS's Randy Throndset in the forum. The CR will stress that the patient can't be on the Medicare hospice benefit without the F2F visit, because it's required to determine eligibility, Throndset said.