Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
CMS is reminding hospices about creating an effective plan of care, noting a 2019 report from the Office of Inspector General that found most hospices have at least one deficiency in their quality of care. Review the Creating an Effective Hospice Plan of Care fact sheet to learn about principles of care planning, care coordination […]
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 […]
After it self-disclosed conduct, an Alabama-based hospice provider agreed to pay $500,000 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, according to a release from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG). OIG alleged that the hospice submitted claims to Medicare for hospice services that lacked recertifications of terminal illness, […]
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) has suggested a hospice provider in Fairfield, Calif., repay $3.3 million to Medicare after its latest audit. The report, released earlier this month, alleged 21 of the 100 sampled claims over a two-year period did not support the associated beneficiary’s terminal prognosis. “Specifically, […]
With us today is Joan Usher, a nationally recognized expert in the field of health information management. Find her at jluhealth.com. Today, we’ll be talking about HIPAA, the public health emergency, how to handle staff COVID testing in a HIPAA-compliant way, and more. Listen and subscribe on iTunes Connect, Spotify, or SoundCloud.
With us today is Joan Usher, a nationally recognized expert in the field of health information management. Find her at jluhealth.com. Today, we’ll be talking about HIPAA, the public health emergency, how to handle staff COVID testing in a HIPAA-compliant way, and more. Listen and subscribe on iTunes Connect, Spotify, or SoundCloud.
Updated Hospice Item Set (HIS) provider preview reports and Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey provider preview reports are now available, as posted on the CMS website. Hospice providers are encouraged to review their HIS quality measure results from Quarter 4, 2018 to Quarter 3, 2019, and their facility-level CAHPS® survey […]
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—called a godsend by some and seriously flawed by others—may be in for a bit of an overhaul. The House passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act on May 28, and the measure is expected to get a vote in the Senate soon, but not before senators seek changes in the […]
The impact of the pandemic on every sector has been massive, especially for healthcare professionals. The workforce has dealt with major impacts spanning staff assignments being shifted to areas of greater need to work from home mandates. In other instances individuals are reconciling job furloughs, layoffs, and even closures, with vulnerability replacing job security. However, […]
In order for a patient to receive the Medicare hospice benefit, the patient must be certified as terminally ill, according to a cgsmedicare webpage. The certification/recertification is an important part of required documentation for Medicare payment for the hospice services provided. A common reason for hospice certification errors are related to a missing or invalid […]