Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
CMS released several proposed rules late Thursday, including the FY 2022 Hospice Payment Rate Update. “Despite the continuing public health emergency (PHE) generated by COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pushing forward with significant changes for hospice,” the National Association for Home Care and Hospice noted in its initial analysis of […]
Home care could see a significant increase in federal spending if Congress approves the $2 trillion economic package offered by President Joe Biden on March 31. If approved as introduced, the American Jobs Plan would include $400 billion “toward expanding access to quality, affordable home- or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities,” […]
On Tuesday, April 6, the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Washington Post released more survey results from conversations with 1,327 frontline health care workers, including more than 290 working in the home. Participants were surveyed Feb. 11- March 7, 2021. And while most health care workers said their employer was “doing about the right amount” […]
Medicare systems corrected three errors on April 1 affecting the payment of CY2021 claims. The errors were: Claims spanning January 1 were applying CY2020 rates in error Late Request for Anticipated Payment (RAP) penalties were not applying to outlier amounts Late RAP penalties were being applied after the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) adjustment when the VBP […]
CMS released updated guidance for surveyors related to emergency preparedness requirements on Friday, March 26, incorporating changes to the rules in recent years and lessons learned from the pandemic. The “Updated Guidance for Emergency Preparedness – Appendix Z of the State Operations Manual” detailed changes made through the Burden Reduction Rule (84 FR 51732) in […]
A bill to delay 2% across-the-board Medicare payment cuts is heading back to the House after a key vote of support in the Senate on Thursday, March 25. Even though the signing of the bill will likely be delayed until mid-April, the 90-2 vote in the Senate will likely mean current Medicare payment rates will […]
Some agencies are facing new payment issues related to the no-pay RAPs that began January 1, 2021. MACs Palmetto GBA and CGS, collectively responsible for claims in 31 states, have recently alerted agencies to a potential issue where Medicare’s system is sometimes not replacing the placeholder HIPPS code used to match RAPs and final claims. […]
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on March 9 a 45-day extension for the public comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The NPRM was first published in the Federal Register on January 21. At the time, individuals had 60 days to submit their comments. The […]
CMS has announced increased payment rates for administering the COVID-19 vaccines. “This new and higher payment rate will support important actions taken by providers that are designed to increase the number of vaccines they can furnish each day, including establishing new or growing existing vaccination sites, conducting patient outreach and education, and hiring additional staff,” […]
Today we’ll be speaking with Dee Kornetti and Cindy Krafft, owners and founders of Kornetti & Krafft Health Care Solutions. Both are recognized speakers in the areas of home health and physical therapy, bringing decades of expertise to offer compliance and revenue solutions. Today, we are talking about Cindy and Dee’s newly updated book, The […]