Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
While the hospice industry is expected to receive about $540 million in increased payments in 2020, hospice providers should curb the enthusiasm until they fully analyze how the changes will impact the business. That’s because the payment rate for the first 60 days of routine home care (RHC) is actually decreasing slightly, according to CMS’ […]
The Department of Labor has published three Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the minimum salary requirement for an employee to qualify for overtime, which forms of payment can be included and excluded in the “time and one-half” calculation when determining workers’ overtime rates, and clarifications of and revisions to the responsibilities of employers and […]
Beginning April 1, 2019, the Hospice Visits when Death is Imminent measure pair will be included in the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports Quality Measure (CASPER QM). The pair assesses whether a hospice patient’s and caregiver’s needs were addressed by hospice staff in the last three and seven days of life. According to a […]
According to a new guideline released by the Endocrine Society, treating diabetes in older adults should consist of simplified medication regimens and less strict glycemic targets. Essential points listed on the society’s webpage include differences between younger individuals with diabetes versus older individuals with the disease, such as problems older individuals face such as sarcopenia, […]
Source: CMS CORMAC sends informational messages to hospices related to the Quality Reporting Program (QRP) on a quarterly basis. Their latest outreach communication can be found on the HQRP Requirements and Best Practices webpage. If you want to receive CORMAC’s quarterly emails, then add or update the email addresses to which these messages are sent […]
Source: Home Health Line While “Hospice and palliative care pain assessment” remains the most difficult individual measure for providers to earn high marks on when it comes to the Hospice Item Set (HIS), the hospice industry continues to improve significantly on it each quarter. Hospices scored 87.8% on the measure, according to the Feb. 21 […]
Source: Home Health Line Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC — CMS’ new Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) — has announced it is conducting post-payment reviews of claims for general inpatient (GIP) hospice care. Noridian’s review is for care billed on dates of service from Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2017. Note that when StrategicHealthSolutions was […]
Source: Home Health Line Fines for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations have been adjusted for inflation. A pre-publication version of the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule increasing the civil monetary penalties was posted Jan. 15. Fines that fall in the categories of serious and other-than-serious and posting requirements will go up from […]
This year, CMS announced strategies to help Medicare Part D sponsors prevent and combat opioid overuse, including the Improving Drug Utilization Review Controls in Part D website contains information about the Medicare Part D opioid overutilization policies including: Drug Management Programs, codified in the 2019 Parts C & D Final Rule. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-04-16/pdf/2018-07179.pdf. As required by […]
Source: Home Health Line. Hospice CAHPS survey reports provider preview reports and hospice provider preview reports have been updated and are now available. These two reports are available in hospices’ CASPER non-validation reports folders. Providers have through Jan. 9, 2019, to review their Hospice Item Set (HIS) and CAHPS survey results.