Eli's Hospice Insider

Don't stop with submitting a cancel claim when you need to change the NOE.

Watch out for errors on your Notices of Election, or you'll have to jump through a lot of hoops. To correct dates or other errors on a hospice NOE, you have to cancel all the claims submitted based on that NOE, then cancel the benefit period itself, HHH MAC CGS explains in its June newsletter for providers.

"The CGS Provider Contact Center has had a recent increase in calls from hospice providers who need assistance with canceling a hospice NOE or a hospice benefit period," the MAC notes in the newsletter. "If an NOE is submitted and processed in error, or it contained an incorrect admit date, the NOE must be canceled to remove the incorrect/inappropriate benefit period from the CWF," CGS explains. "In order for the benefit period to be removed, a cancel NOE (type of bill 8XD) must be submitted."

Common pitfall: Do not assume that an 8X8 claim will do the job. "A cancel claim (8X8) DOES NOT remove hospice benefit periods from CWF," the MAC stresses.

"If any hospice claims have been processed based on the incorrect/inappropriate NOE, they will need to be canceled (type of bill 8X8) before the cancel NOE (8XD) can be submitted," CGS continues. "Claims must be canceled sequentially in reverse order (cancel June's claim first, then cancel May's claim, then cancel April's claim, etc.)."

After you've verified that the periods have been canceled in the CWF, you can submit a new NOE with the correct information, CGS instructs.