Home Health & Hospice Week

Meanwhile, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice continues to pursue its lawsuit against the face-to-face physician narrative. Even though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yanked the narrative requirement shortly after NAHC filed a lawsuit over the matter, “home health agencies nationwide were left with significant claim denials and financial losses,” the trade group notes in its member newsletter. “NAHC continues to litigate the validity of the narrative requirement to address an estimated $150-200 million in claim denials, along with the risk that claims prior to the 2015 rescission of the rule could still be audited.”

Goal: NAHC wants “an invalidation of the narrative requirement from its inception, an injunction to prevent any further claims reviews applying the narrative requirement, a reopening of all narrative-based claim denials since January 1, 2011, and a payment on any past denied claims,” it says.

NAHC has filed its closing brief in the suit and at press time, was prepared to make oral arguments Aug. 6. “A ruling is expected shortly after that hearing,” the trade group says.