Home Health & Hospice Week

2013 proposed rule also addresses hospice quality reporting.One of the biggest regulatory changes to hit home health agencies in years is proposed in the 2013 PPS rule.After pressure from the HHS Office of Inspector General, the Centers for Medicare & Medi-caid Services has proposed survey changes and imposition of intermediate or alternative sanctions. The sanctions include monetary penalties, payment suspension, and temporary management."This is a huge change for HHAs," warns attorney Liz Pearson with Pearson & Bernard in Edgewood, Ky. "The proposed rules on the sanctions are nothing less than punitive."HHAs should expect to pay a lot more fines under the new structure, predicts attorney Robert Markette Jr. with Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff in Indianapolis. Such fines "would be especially hard on HHAs, who are dealing with significant rate cuts already," Markette notes.For more details about the intermediate sanctions changes and their impact on the industry, see the next [...]