Home Health & Hospice Week

Plus: Don't abandon your old HHABN yet, CMS says in forum.

The feds are eliminating at least one point of OASIS C confusion. Previously, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an "errata" sheet making corrections to the OASIS C Guidance Manual. Agencies seeking correct guidance had to consult the errata, since the errors were still contained in the original manual. Now, CMS has made the changes to the manual itself, reported CMS's Robin Dowell in the Jan. 20 home health Open Door Forum.

"The most recent manual includes those clarifications," Dowell explained in the forum that drew nearly 450 participants. The manual is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthQualityInits/14_HHQIOASISUserManual.asp under the "Downloads" section.

Other issues addressed in the forum include:

• CHOWs. Don't expect CMS to do your due diligence for you when it comes to the new change of ownership (CHOW) burdens (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XIX, No. 2, p. 10). CMS doesn't permit its contractors to furnish information to potential buyers about an existing Medicare provider's enrollment record, said a CMS official in the forum.

Medicare contractors won't verify whether there's been a CHOW that will trigger the billing deactivation and resurvey provisions, the staffer said. Buyers and sellers must rely on the sellers' own records for that information.

• OASIS training. You won't get much help from CMS's oasistraining.org Web site for OASIS C. CMS hasn't updated the site for the new assessment tool. It is investigating whether it has the resources to do so, said CMS's Pat Sevast.

Agencies can access CMS's OASIS training calls, via transcript or MP3, at www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthQualityInits/03_EducationalResources.asp under the "Downloads" section.

• ABNs. Home health agencies are still waiting for the new home health advance beneficiary notice (HH ABN).

CMS originally proposed issuing the new HH ABN last fall (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XVIII, No. 21, p. 162). But although the federal Office of Management and Budget has approved the new form, CMS won't be issuing it for at least a few more months, CMS's Evelyn Blaemire said in the forum. Until then, use the current form.

• OASIS login change. OASIS contractor Iowa Foundation for Medical Care will proceed with OASIS system login changes next month as planned, an IFMC representative said in the forum.

Agencies will be transitioned from a shared agency login to individual logins for agency personnel, the official reiterated. "Any agency user responsible for submitting assessments or accessing CASPER reports will be required to register for a personal login ID," the rep said.

Agencies will be prompted to register for the new login when they access their state OASIS system page. Login changes will occur in groups of states from February through July.