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Home Health & Hospice Week

Industry Notes:

Final Data Specs Out For OASIS 1.40

Published on Mon Aug 04, 2003

If you don't start submitting OASIS data in a new format by Oct. 1, you'll see rejected OASIS records right and left.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued the final data specifications for OASIS 1.40, the new OASIS version that takes effect Oct. 1. "All assessment records with completion dates (M0090) on or after 10/1/2003 must conform to the version 1.40 specifications," CMS instructs on its OASIS Web site. "Assessments with earlier completion dates must conform to the version 1.30 specifications (or to earlier versions, as appropriate)."

The final specs have two changes from the draft specs put out in April, CMS notes. A clarification of the implementation requirements and a change to consistency checks were added.

Version 1.40 incorporates two major new features compared to previous versions: changes to diagnosis code reporting and the addition of branch identification number reporting, CMS notes.  The final specs are at www.cms.hhs.gov/oasis/datasubm.asp.

  • Regional home health intermediary Palmetto GBA has lifted the time limit on viewing partial episode payment adjustments, it says on its Web site. Home health agencies now may view PEPs for the entire duration of the two-year PEP recovery process, instead of only through July 28 (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XII, No. 26, p. 202). The claims will move out of the SM PEP1 status/location as they are processed, so Palmetto recommends printing out a copy of the adjustment listing now.

  • Six law firms have filed a class action shareholder lawsuit against Polymedica Corp., the parent company of Liberty Home Medical and Liberty Home Pharmacy, which provide diabetes supplies and home respiratory medications and supplies, respectively, through the mail. The suit charges that Polymedica overstated earnings through accounting tricks involving advertising costs. Polymedica announced June 30, after discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that it may have to restate earnings due to the matter.

  • RHHIs no longer have to perform tentative cost settlements on home health cost reports that have no direct reimbursement impact, CMS says in July 25 program memorandum A-03-061. If HHAs claim costs outside of the prospective payment system including bad debt expense, however, a tentative settlement still is required.

    Intermediaries "must continue to final settle these cost reports within one year from the cost report acceptance date if the cost report is not scheduled for audit or focus review," CMS notes.

  • CMS' guidance on compliance with the HIPAA electronic transactions standard doesn't establish a formal, gradual compliance phase-in period, as many provider groups hoped for.

    But the guidance does show CMS plans to treat HIPAA transaction noncompliance gingerly, at least at first. The July 24 document says CMS' enforcement efforts will be complaint-driven - much like the HHS Office for Civil Rights' approach to HIPAA privacy violations - and will focus on fostering compliance among covered organizations.

    CMS points out it can't impose penalties for noncompliance that's not willful if the failure to comply is rectified within 30 days. And the agency seems willing to be generous about extending the 30-day grace period for organizations that appear to be making earnest efforts to get their acts together.

    The guidance is at www.cms.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/guidance-final.pdf.

  • If you submitted corrections to your agency contact information on CMS' Home Health Compare Web site by Aug. 1, they should be included in the national rollout of the patient outcomes comparison project this fall, home care trade associations report. CMS pushed back its deadline for corrections from July 8 to Aug. 1 to give HHAs more time to submit corrections to their information, which includes: name, office address, phone number, Medicare-covered services offered by the agency, initial date of Medicare certification and type of ownership.

    The Home Health Compare site is at www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/Home.asp.

  • The rate of home health mergers and acquisitions fell 71 percent from the previous quarter and 78 percent from the year-ago quarter in the second quarter of 2003, says New Canaan, CT-based Irving Levin Associates. There were four home health M&A transactions reported in the quarter.

  • Two respiratory companies saw increased earnings and revenues this quarter. Murraysville, PA-based Respironics Inc. reported income of $14.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared to $12.9 million profit for the same period of 2002. Domestic revenues increased 9 percent over the year-ago quarter to $123.5 million, the company says.

    Respironics' sleep therapy product sales increased 22 percent over last year, it says. Days' sales outstanding for the respiratory medical device company was 65 days for the quarter, a five-year low.

    Chatsworth, CA-based CHAD Therapeutics Inc. recorded net income of $224,000 on revenues of $5.7 million for the quarter, compared to a $178,000 profit on $5.0 million in sales for the same period last year. CHAD's sales of oxygen conservers grew 21 percent over the year-ago quarter.

  • For-profit hospice chain VistaCare Inc. reported net income of $3.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, up 152 percent from $1.5 million for the same period in 2002. Revenues grew 49 percent to $46.1 million in the same time period.

    Scottsdale, AZ-based VistaCare's undup-licated patient census for the quarter was 4,569 compared to 4,125 the directly previous quarter and 3,166 in the year-ago quarter, the company says.

  • Manor Care Inc.'s home health and hospice businesses "remained on a double-digit growth path" during the quarter ended June 30, the long-term care company says in a release. The Toledo, OH-based company reported net income of $18.9 million on revenues of $750.5 million, compared to a $38 million profit on $728.4 million in revenues for the same period in 2002.

    Manor Care acquired three home health/hospice businesses during the quarter, it says.

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