Eli's Hospice Insider

If your billing staff is sloppy with the dates of Notices of Election, you’ll start to receive returned NOEs this summer.

The problem: “There is currently no edit in place to prevent a future date from being posted to the admission and from date fields in a notice of election (8XA) or other notice types of bill (8XB, 8XC, 8XD, 8XE) when submitted by the hospice,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says in recently released CR 9932. “While this is an uncommon error, it is an error that can prove costly.”

The solution: HHH Medicare Administrative Contractors will implement edits to prevent future dates on NOEs as well as election (8XA), termination (8XB), transfer (8XC), cancellation (8XD), and change of ownership (8XE) ToBs as of July 3, says the CR at www.cms.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Guidance/Transmittals/2017Down loads/R1799OTN.pdf. When the hospice submits a future date, the edit will return the claim.