The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the final rule updating the fiscal year 2019 Medicare payment rates for hospice providers. As the agency proposed in April, hospices will see an increase of $340 million or 1.8% in their payments in fiscal year 2019, an increase of 1% from the last fiscal year. […]
For years, home health agencies across the country have had numerous reasons to focus on reducing their 60-day re-hospitalization rate. Yet performance in this area has slightly worsened, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) noted in its recently proposed Medicare payment update for 2019. Because of this trend, CMS is proposing to increase […]
Hospital discharge planners should have more leeway in how they educate and inform patients about post-acute care options, perhaps making star ratings a more important part of the conversation, home health providers believe. But it’s a change that would need to be handled carefully to prevent favoritism or abuse in how referrals are made, they caution. […]
One measure behind home health quality of patient care star ratings may be on its way out, but another is poised to take its place. The Medicare Learning Network, an education and outreach arm of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), outlined two recommended changes to quality of patient care star rating methodology […]
Stakeholders throughout the home health industry are gearing up for another battle over Pre-Claim Review Demonstration (PCRD), a controversial Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiative aimed at reducing fraud and improper billing. PCRD asks providers to send in claims earlier in the care process to ensure they are meeting requirements. In August 2016, CMS rolled out […]
About 5% of U.S. home health agencies earned a 5-star rating for quality of patient care in the latest update to the Home Health Compare website, which occurred on April 11. That’s an uptick from 4% as of January 2018. The percentage of 4.5-star agencies also increased in that time period, from 10% to 12%, […]
Adam Boehler, an entrepreneur who started home-based care company Landmark Health, has been tapped as the new director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The appointment puts someone with home care expertise in charge of the office spearheading new Medicare payment and delivery models, such as bundled payment programs and accountable care […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has for the first time released the results of the CAHPS Hospice Survey on Hospice Compare. The survey—the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS)—asks family members or friends who cared for a patient who died under hospice about their experience with the provider. The survey […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended its moratoria on new home health care agencies in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The home health moratoria went into effect in 2013 in Chicago, Illinois, and Miami, Florida, to prevent the enrollment of new agencies in these areas and has since […]
Home health care agencies are complying with new regulations as the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) went into effect January 13. Providers are working to meet the new requirements for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs without the finalized interpretive guidelines (IGs), which offer more detailed information on certain measures. The Centers for Medicare & […]
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