Home Health & Hospice Week
IR MAY THREATEN DME PAYMENTS SOON
Durable medical equipment suppliers who felt safe from inherent reasonableness cuts over the past few years may now have reason to get nervous again.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published the final rule on its IR authority in the Dec. 13 Federal Register. The rule remains largely unchanged from the one proposed in December 2002, notes the American Association for Homecare in a message to members.
CMS will use the 15 percent threshold to define a grossly excessive or deficient payment amount for IR cuts, the rule explains.
IR cuts won't apply to providers under prospective payment systems, including home health agencies, the rule specifies.
CMS officials have been promising to put certain DME items, especially power wheelchairs, at the top of the IR list for cuts when the authority was ready to roll.
Note: The final rule is at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a051213c.html --scroll down to the "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services" section. For more information on IR, see future issues of Eli's Home Care Week.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Referrals:
HOSPITAL TRANSFER POLICY SLASHES HOME CARE REFERRALS
List of prorated DRGs jumped from 30 to 182 on Oct. 1.
Your local hospital may [...] - Hospitals:
KNOW YOUR FACTS--HOSPITAL POST-ACUTE TRANSFER POLICY
Learning the ins and outs of hospitals' post-acute care transfer policy may help you save [...] - Inherent Reasonableness:
IR MAY THREATEN DME PAYMENTS SOON
Final rule published for mechanism to cut payment rates.
Durable medical equipment suppliers who felt safe [...] - Prospective Payment System:
MEDPAC FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT PPS FLAWS
CMS considering numerous changes to payment system.
If you have a higher case mix, are larger, [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
COMMIT DME FRAUD, GO TO JAIL
Feds rack up convictions for wheelchair funny business.
Recent jury convictions underscore the fact that durable [...] - Hospice:
NEW ADMISSION REQUIREMENT RILES HOSPICES
Survey woes may lie ahead, experts warn.
New hospice requirements related to medical directors could give [...] - Industry Notes:
LAWMAKERS SHARPEN BUDGET KNIVES AS MEDPAC URGES HHA RATE FREEZE
Budget negotiations may be entering the eleventh hour.
Senate and House leaders are negotiating over Medicare [...]
