Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
A CMS proposal would make it easier for Medicaid home care workers and person care assistants to obtain health insurance, training and other benefits customary for full-time employees, according to a release July 29, 2021. The proposed rule would allow states to make payments to third parties on behalf of certain individual health care practitioners. […]
Industry leaders are celebrating the introduction of the Choose Home Care Act of 2021. The legislation proposes a new add-on to the Medicare Home Health benefit that would allow extended care services for eligible Medicare patients following discharge from the hospital. Services could include skilled nursing, therapy, primary care, personal care, continuous remote patient monitoring, […]
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) is calling for Palmetto GBA to refund $17,513 to hospices and attempt to collect $545,639 in overpayments after an audit of the Medicare contractor’s policy around overpayments in lookback years. The OIG noted Palmetto policies that waived collection for overpayments for a lookback […]
Providers should follow three steps in securing their Medicare enrollment information, according to CMS: Keep your Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) user ID and password secure and don’t share with others. Only an individual provider, Authorized or Delegated Official of an organizational provider, or Authorized Surrogate may view and update your enrollment […]
CMS answers questions about the 5-day assessment time frame and assessing ambulation at the start of care in the recently released OASIS Q&As. This update includes 13 questions offering guidance on things such as: When to assess self-care and mobility for GG items. What constitutes a valid referral for M0104. How to code GG0100C – […]
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector is reviewing telehealth use during the pandemic with an eye on building the blueprint for “telehealth 2.0,” according to Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm. The OIG recently shared comments Grimm made to the American Health Law Association’s annual meeting June 29, and telehealth was […]
Start preparing for a return to operations that will no longer include relaxed requirements brought on by the 1135 and related waivers that CMS put in place during the pandemic. Home health: For home health, waivers that may have proved most valuable and which may be the most challenging to unwind include: The waiver for […]
Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD will serve as Deputy Administrator and Director of Center for Medicare and will lead the Center’s efforts for those who rely on Medicare coverage. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new director of the Center for Medicare on Tuesday. Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD will serve as Deputy […]
Five home health measures will be removed from Care Compare in late July 2021. CMS issued a reminder to providers during the open door forum June 30, 2021. The measures to be removed from public reporting on Care Compare include one outcome measure: Improvement in status of surgical wounds Along with four process measures: Depression […]
The Association for Home Care Coding and Compliance (AHCC) is looking for amazing people across the country doing groundbreaking work in home care to honor them with an AHCC Achievement Award. AHCC is accepting nominations for four awards this year: Home Health Coding Professional of the Year Hospice Coding Professional of the Year Home Health […]