Home Health & Hospice Week
VA Ups HH Referrals, GAO Report Says
HHAs are receiving more Veterans Administration referrals due to COVID-19. So says a new report from the Government Accountability Office. “When veterans need health care services that are not available at VA medical facilities or within required driving distances or time frames, [the Veterans Health Administration] may purchase care from non-VA providers through its community care program,” notes the new report, “COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts.” Back in March, “VHA issued guidance for community care in response to COVID-19, which advised providers to weigh the need for a community care authorization for routine care against the risks of exposing veterans to COVID-19,” the report notes. “VHA told us that urgent visits in the community decreased by 50 percent in March 2020. However, VHA told us that other referrals to community care, such as home health authorizations and inpatient care, have increased.” Also, VA community living centers should be allowing access to hospice patients, the report indicates. VHA guidelines issued to the centers recommended no visitors “except for end-of-life hospice patients,” GAO says. See the report at www.gao.gov/reports/GAO-20-625/.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Patient-Driven Groupings Model:
HHAs To See Largest Rate Increase In More Than A Decade — But It Could Be Higher
Productivity adjustment chips away at inflation update. A calm home health annual payment rule for [...] - Reimbursement:
Watch Out For Wage Index Wallop
Mid Atlantic agencies win, New England agencies lose under new OMB system. Are you ready [...] - Payment:
Rural Add-On Is Going, Going, Almost Gone
Activate your plans for dealing with reduced reimbursement in rural regions. Home health agencies in [...] - Regulations:
Proposed Rule's Telehealth Changes Don't Measure Up To Home Health Agencies' Wish Lists
Direct reimbursement for telehealth visits is not in the rule. The future of home care [...] - Conditions of Participation:
Check Out The Newly Proposed CoP Language On Telehealth
Don’t miss any new requirements. If the telehealth proposal in the home health 2021 proposed [...] - OASIS:
New HHAs Get A Slight Break In Proposed Rule
Plus: Rule lays out home infusion therapy details, misses OT certification opportunity. Newly enrolling home [...] - Industry Notes:
Providers Get More Breathing Room On Cost Reports
Blanket extension means it’s automatic. Medicare has pushed cost report deadlines once again. The same: [...] - Industry Notes:
Costs Are Up And Admissions Are Down
Costs are up and admissions are down under COVID-19, a new industry survey shows. “The [...] - Industry Notes:
Medicare Extends MCCM Concurrent Care Demo
Medicare’s concurrent care demonstration project will get another year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid [...] - Industry Notes:
VA Ups HH Referrals, GAO Report Says
HHAs are receiving more Veterans Administration referrals due to COVID-19. So says a new report [...] - Industry Notes:
Gear Up For Quality Data Reporting Resumption
You might still be in the middle of a pandemic, but your quality reporting duties [...] - Industry Notes:
Pick Back Up Where You Left Off With MAC's Advice
All may not be as you left it when you left your office weeks, or [...] - Industry Notes:
HH Employees Plead Guilty, Get Probation, Home Detention, Restitution
Two home health billers have been sentenced in the ongoing Moriarty Consultants Medicaid fraud case [...] - Industry Notes:
Texas-Based Hospice Chain Makes Buys, Plans Growth
A Texas-based hospice chain is setting its sights outside of the state. “We have done [...] - Industry Notes:
OIG Tells MCFU To Prosecute More
If you operate in a state that hasn’t seen a lot of activity from its [...]
