CMS Revives Appendix B

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued revisions to the Medicare State Operations Manual, Appendix B, Also referred to as the Interpretive Guidelines for the home health Conditions of Participation(CoPs). CMS has made several conforming changes to the regulatory tags and interpretive guidelines based on several final rules that have amended the […]

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NEW! Hospice Model Election Statement

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A revised CMS Hospice Model Example Election Statement was recently posted for provider use. NAHC and NHPCO met with staff at CMS last week and asked to have the Right to Request “Patient Notification of Hospice Non-covered Items, Services, and Drugs” section updated to reflect the current timeframe for supplying the election statement addendum. CMS changed the timeframe […]

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Survey: Hospice Provider Experience Underscores Urgency of Program Integrity Effort

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Following a series of meetings with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Members of Congress on efforts to  improve and protect hospice program integrity, the four preeminent national hospice organizations – National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), LeadingAge, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), and the National Partnership […]

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Survey: Hospice Provider Experience Underscores Urgency of Program Integrity Efforts

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 12, 2024 Findings Reveal Current Audit Process’ Shortcomings (Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA) – Following a series of meetings with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Members of Congress on efforts to  improve and protect hospice program integrity, the four preeminent national hospice organizations – LeadingAge, the National […]

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CMS Statement on Continued Action to Respond to the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to monitor and assess the impact that the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Change Healthcare has had on all provider and supplier types. Today, CMS is announcing that, in addition to considering applications for accelerated payments for Medicare Part A providers, we will also be […]

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HHS releases HCBS CAHPs data

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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released the 2024 home and community-based services (HCBS) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) chartbook. This chartbook includes data that was collected in the summer of 2023. The HCBS CAHPS was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a way to […]

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Hospice Quality Reporting Program Update

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The Hospice CAHPS Provider Preview Reports for the May 2024 refresh (Hospice CAHPS Survey data from Q3 2021 – Q2 2023) are delayed by two weeks and will be available on February 28, 2024. The 30-day preview period for CAHPS data will begin the same day reports become available. For additional information about how to […]

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CMS Issues Instructions on “Stay of Enrollment”

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) has issued Change Request (CR) 13449 that outlines CMS’ policies for a new Medicare provider enrollment status. In the Calendar Year 2024 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule, CMS finalized several provisions concerning Medicare provider enrollment. One of these provisions involves the establishment of a new provider enrollment […]

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Cyber Attacks Impact Care at Home, NAHC Members

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As you may have seen reported, Change Healthcare, a health care technology company, experienced a cyber-attack recently which has had an impact on providers across the entire healthcare spectrum.  Some have experienced issues such as delays in being able to verify insurance information, process orders for medications, process claims, and receive claims payment.   Based […]

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CMS Announces Hospice Carve-In Demonstration will be Terminated at End of 2024

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Late on Monday, March 4, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced it plans to formally end the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Medicare Advantage hospice “carve-in” demonstration on December 31, 2024, and that it will not accept applications to the previously released CY 2025 Request for Applications (RFA) for the hospice component of […]

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