Home Health & Hospice Week

Stay abreast of new Hospice Quality Reporting Program developments with newly released resources.

HOPE: Materials from a May 12 HQRP forum on the Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation tool are now online. A session recording, transcript, and slide deck are in the “Downloads” section online at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality-Reporting/Hospice-QRP-Provider-Engagement-Opportunities.

Hospices have until June 14 to apply to beta test the new HOPE tool, CMS notes on the webpage.

Care Compare: While all Hospice Item Set and CAHPS measures on Care Compare remain frozen due to the temporary COVID-19 Public Health Emergency exemption, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated some items on the outcomes comparison site in May.

For example, “additional data elements from the [Public Use File] have been added to inform users whether a hospice provided service to any Medicare Advantage patients, or patients with both Medicaid and Medicare coverage,” CMS explains in a message to providers. A question-and-answer document and fact sheet on the new PUF revisions are in the “Downloads” section at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality-Reporting/Public-Reporting-Background-and-Announcements.

CMS also has “updated the claims-based zip codes using CY 2019 Medicare claims data,” it says in the message. “This routine annual update ensures that the Care Compare search engine continues to provide accurate and up-to-date hospice information to consumers.”