Home Health & Hospice Week

Can home health and hospice agencies avoid the extra work? Stay tuned to forthcoming regulations to find out.

Get ready for another federal law that will require compliance efforts.

The Corporate Transparency Act, enacted on Jan. 1, will “require certain U.S. entities to report the personal information of their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” note attorneys Ellen Grady and Drew Reitz with law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. “‘Reporting companies, will be required to disclose to the federal government the personal information of beneficial owners, including name, address, date of birth and unique identification number from an acceptable document (such as driver’s license or passport number),” Grady and Reitz say in online analysis. The law aims to curb money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

A beneficial owner is one who “exercises substantial control over a corporation or limited liability company, owns 25 percent or more of the interest in a corporation or limited liability company, or receives substantial economic benefits from the assets of a corporation or limited liability company,” points out the National Association for Home Care & Hospice in its member newsletter.

Good news: Certain companies are exempt, including non-profits; those that exceed 20 full-time employees or $5 million in their latest tax return; those that are publicly traded; and those that are heavily regulated, NAHC points out. “The CTA … makes no mention of whether regulated health care organizations such as Medicare certified home health and hospice agencies or licensed home care agencies would be exempted industries,” the trade group says.

The CTA “raises many questions which we hope will be addressed in the implementing regulations,” which are expected by Jan. 1, Grady and Reitz note. “Numerous details regarding application and administration of the Act are not covered in the initial legislation passed.” Implementation is scheduled for 2023.

FinCEN sought “preliminary input” via an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published in the April 5 Federal Register, note attorneys with law firm Schiff Hardin in online analysis. The comment period closed in May.

“Medicare certified home health care and hospice agencies should explicitly be exempted from the definition of ‘reporting company’” under the regulations, NAHC told FinCEN. The trade group “submitted comments on the ANPRM to make the case for exempting home health and hospice providers enrolled in the Medicare, Medicaid, and/ or CHIP programs, and home care providers subject to state licensure from the definition of ‘reporting companies’ and not require these organizations to comply with the CTA reporting requirements,” NAHC says.

Stay tuned for proposed regulations to see if FinCEN listens — and how that will affect your agency.