The recently extended COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will not last forever. When it does expire, hospices need to be aware of potential legal risks.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) once again extended the COVID-19 PHE until Oct. 6. While the agency has the option to keep extending the emergency, hospices may start seeing additional scrutiny, particularly in regards to telehealth utilization and the Provider Relief Fund (PRF).
Hospices need to prepare for a world in which they can no longer use telehealth for services like face-to-face recertification encounters, among other flexibilities. But careful documentation of the ways they’ve used both telehealth and any federal relief they received can help providers hold their ground against any legal probes on the horizon, according to Bryan Nowicki and Andrew Brenton, hospice attorneys at law firm Husch Blackwell.
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