Home Health & Hospice Week
New Visits Measure To Go Public In May
Plus: Now’s the time to turn over a new leaf on HIS submissions. Medicare has pinned down the timeframe for displaying the quality measure pair for Hospice Visits when Death is Imminent on Hospice Compare. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will furnish the Measure 1 and Measure 2 data in hospices’ March preview reports, a CMS staffer said in CMS’s Jan. 16 Open Door Forum for home health and hospice providers. The data should go up on the website in May. When CMS adopted the measure set in its 2019 final rule for hospice payment, it did so over providers’ protests that they had little control over many factors influencing this measure (see Eli’s HCW, Vol. XXVII, No. 29). Meanwhile: Watch for the Hospice Compare website’s data refresh coming in February, a CMS source noted. It won’t yet include the visit measure set. Review: Back in its 2016 final payment rule for hospices, CMS set HIS threshold levels. In calendar year 2016, hospices had to submit 70 percent of their HIS records on time to achieve a full APU for fiscal year 2018. That climbed to 80 percent in CY 2017 for FY 2019, and 90 percent in CY 2018 for FY 2020. Hospices that failed to achieve those thresholds — determined at submission rates 30 days after admission or discharge — got docked 2 percent in their APU. January 2019 starts the cycle over again, this time influencing FY 2021 rates. Don’t forget there are no exemptions for size, a CMS official reminded forum attendees. Help: Register for a Jan. 23 CMS webinar, “Achieving a Full APU,” via a link at www.cms.gov/medicare/quality-initiatives-patient-assessment-instruments/hospice-quality-reporting/spotlight.html.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Regulations:
HHAs Still Hanging On RCD
Tip: Use this new GG decision tree to help with OASIS-D confusion. Home health agencies [...] - OASIS:
You Have To Take A Hit For Falls At Doctor's Office, Elsewhere
CMS issues another OASIS-D question-and-answer set. Home health staff performing OASIS-D assessments are encountering confusion, [...] - Reimbursement:
MACs Issue Information On Advance Directive Procedure
MACs urge appeals for CERT denials. What steps you take to deal with possible claims [...] - Hospice:
NOTR Problems Snarl Billing
New edit should clear up at least some problems occurring with transfer patients. Medicare officials [...] - Quality Reporting:
New Visits Measure To Go Public In May
Plus: Now’s the time to turn over a new leaf on HIS submissions. Medicare has [...] - Industry Note:
Home Health Claims Lacking County Codes Bounce Back
Try this keying trick to get them through. Get up to speed on the new [...] - Industry Note:
Payment Duplication Goes Under The Microscope
The HHS Office of Inspector General has added another home health item to its everexpanding [...] - Industry Note:
Over Half Of Claims Use New Medicare Number Already
If you’re not yet using the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier numbers contained on your patients’ [...] - Industry Note:
Skipping 1st Medicare Appeal Level Doesn't Get You Ahead
Don’t waste your appeals time and effort by falling into a common trap. The problem: [...] - Industry Note:
Home Visits Reduce Disabilities, Study Finds
Home care providers can add another item to their toolbox, proving how beneficial the service [...] - Industry Note:
Updated Manual Contains Specs For Hospice Visit Measures
Make sure you are using the updated version of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program Quality [...] - Industry Note:
Upcoming MAC Webinar Schools Docs On HH Duties
You can use this free physician-focused webinar to nudge your referring docs onto the path [...] - Industry Note:
Hospice Needs Require Opioid Prescribing Law Change
Federal officials don’t have a monopoly on regulatory requirements that cause undue burden and make [...] - Industry Note:
Chain Acquires Chicago-Area Provider
Arosa+LivHOME has acquired Partners in Senior Care in the Chicago area, reports the Los Angeles-based [...]
