Eli's Hospice Insider

Hospices have a plethora of new resources available to explain payment, quality, and other concepts.

For example, two new videos, which range from three to four minutes long, are “Introduction to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP)” and “The Hospice Care Index – A Claims-Based Measure of Quality for Hospice Care.” The HQRP video includes an overview of the Hospice and Palliative Care Composite Process Measure, the Hospice Care Index (HCI), the Hospice Visits In The Last Days of Life (HVLDL) measure, and the CAHPS Hospice Survey. The HCI video focuses on just that composite measure.

“It’s empowering families and patients to make informed decisions about what hospice is right for them,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says in a message about the videos.

The videos are at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfcq80J6csw and www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFeo2OMRXDk.

And the new hospice reimbursement rates, cap amount, and other details that take effect Oct. 1 are officially on the books. See the new transmittal with the info at www.cms.gov/files/ document/r11542CP.pdf.

Plus: Version 1.01 of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program QM User’s Manual and an HQRP QM User’s Manual V1.00 to V1.01 Change Table are now available. “These documents reflect updates to the language in the manual to add clarity based on hospice provider questions about the quality measures finalized in the FY 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Update Final Rule,” CMS says.

The updated manual and the change table are in the “Downloads” section at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality- Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality- Reporting/Current-Measures.