Home Health & Hospice Week
Stable Patients Equal Hospice Denials, Contractor Says
You'd better beef up documentation for your hospice patients whose conditions are holding steady, or face denials. In medical review of hospice claims by Medicare contractor NHIC, denials are often due to lack of terminal prognosis, NHIC's Dr. George Costantino told the hospice Provider Outreach and Education Advisory Group Aug. 20 meeting. "Technically, all the pieces are on the claim," the meeting minutes note. "However, there are no serious changes in condition." The problem: "There are patients whose health is declining, meet the need for hospice care, and receive the care they need," the minutes say. "They're taken off medications and stabilize -- there's no allowance for this type of patient."
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Fraud & Abuse:
Take These 6 Steps To Prepare For ZPIC Audits
You can bet homebound status will be a vulnerable point. ZPIC audits are shutting down [...] - Audits:
Use These 7 Tips To Survive A ZPIC Audit
Hop on probe letters to avoid a full-blown audit. Like many home care providers nationwide, [...] - Policy:
MedPAC Sets Sights On Home Care -- Again
HHA, hospice, and DME prone to overutilization, fraud, and abuse, commission says. If you thought [...] - Diagnosis Coding:
Use This Checklist To Help You Implement ICD-9 Changes
Fewer changes this year signal that ICD-10 preparations are under way. It's that time again. [...] - Competitive Bidding:
Bidding Hearing Gives Suppliers Little Hope Of Delay
Jan. 1 implementation date for DME competitive bidding looms. Durable medical equipment suppliers hoping to [...] - Industry Notes:
New Legislation Takes Aim At Medicare Fraud
OIG powers would be expanded under bill. Congress' assault on fraud in the Medicare program [...] - Medicare Issues PECOS Enrollment Instructions For Ordering Docs.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is clearing one more obstacle from the path [...] - Guard Against Whistleblowers.
With all the new regulatory and payment burdens hitting home care providers, don't overlook an [...] - Schedule Around PECOS 'Dark Days'
You'd better reschedule any PECOSrelated work you have planned for this week. The Internet-based Provider [...] - Home Care Cuts Hurt Patients, Newspaper Says
States making big Medicaid cuts to home care are also making a big mistake. So [...] - OIG Blasts Suppliers' KX Modifier Claims
Another OIG report is projecting millions in Medicare overpayments for DME billed with the KX [...] - Keep Dates Straight Or Risk RAP Rejections
If you mix up the dates on your request for anticipated payment, you'll have to [...] - Payment Glitch Holds Up Palmetto Providers' Pay
If Palmetto is your Medicare contractor and you have claims suspending in status and location [...] - Stable Patients Equal Hospice Denials, Contractor Says
You'd better beef up documentation for your hospice patients whose conditions are holding steady, or [...]
