Home Health & Hospice Week

A new year of data is now available in Medicare’s Post-Acute Care and Hospice Provider Utilization and Payment Public Use Files (PAC PUF). “The PAC PUF is segmented by year and covers calendar years 2013 through 2018,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services notes on the PAC PUF site at www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Medicare-Provider-Charge-Data/PAC_Hospice.

“The PAC PUF data is extremely valuable and interesting information on a state and a provider-by-provider basis and contains identifying information, so it allows providers to see competitor-specific data,” points out the National Association for Home Care & Hospice in its member newsletter. However, “the data are not risk adjusted and thus do not account for differences in the underlying severity of disease of patient populations treated by providers,” NAHC points out.

“The PAC PUF contains information on demographic and clinical characteristics of beneficiaries served, professional and paraprofessional service utilization, submitted charges, and payments at the provider, state, and national levels,” CMS explains. It “is based on 100 percent final-action (i.e., all claim adjustments have been resolved) Part A institutional claims.”