Eli's Hospice Insider

Give CMS your 2 cents on the newest version of the form.

You don’t have much time left to give CMS a piece of your mind on its latest version of the hospice cost report. The agency proposed revisions to the report back in April (see Eli’s HOP, Vol. 6, No. 7). Now it has a new iteration of the report in the Paperwork Reduction Act clearance process, and the agency will take comments on the form until Dec. 23, it says in the Nov. 22 Federal Register.

The new form for freestanding hospices will be effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after Oct. 1, 2014, notes Frost Ruttenberg & Rothblatt on its website. “Several reporting requirements have been removed including the reporting of over-the-counter drug costs, unduplicated census count, and average length of stay,” FR&R says.

Numerous form changes support the new requirement to break down costs by each of the four levels of care, FR&R notes: continuous, routine, inpatient respite, and general inpatient (GIP).

The new form and supporting information are at www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing.html — scroll down to the Nov. 22 “Hospice Cost and Data Report” link. Directions for submitting comments are at www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/11/22 — scroll down to the first Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services entry.