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CMS Releases New Home Health Change of Care (HHCCN) Form

8MayHome Health Billing, Home Health Today

CMS has released an updated Home Health Change of Care (HHCCN) Form. Effective July 1, 2019, all Home Health Agencies will be required to use the renewed form with the expiration date of 4/30/2022 on the bottom. No changes have

Medicaid Can No Longer Pay Union Dues Under New CMS Policy

3MayHome Health Today

This week, CMS finalized a rule which prevents home healthcare workers from paying union dues via state Medicaid payments. This reverses a rule from 2014 which permitted the practice. CMS’ Seema Verma stated: “State Medicaid programs are responsible for ensuring

Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund Will Run Out by 2026

26AprilNewsletter

The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will only be able to fund about 89% of Medicare costs over the next seven years, according to a new report from CMS. This is due to a combination of less tax revenue, higher payments

CMS Releases a New Version of OASIS for 2020

19AprilHome Health Billing, Home Health Today

CMS has announced changes to OASIS for 2020. Fortunately for providers, they are relatively minor and will be easy to implement. From CMS: “Beginning January 1, 2020, changes to the OASIS data set and data collection guidance take effect…Changes include

CMS Finalizes Medicare Advantage and Part D Payment and Policy Updates for 2020

3AprilHome Health Billing, Home Health Today

On Monday CMS finalized a rule giving Medicare Advantage plans a 2.53% pay raise in 2020. This is far better than the 1.59% raise that was proposed previously. Additionally, the final rule lifts some restrictions on Medicare Advantage plans offering

Important Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Updates for Home Health Providers

26MarchHome Health Billing, Home Health Today

CMS has released CR11104, which contains many important changes for home health providers. CR11104 updates the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual and Medicare Program Integrity Manual to reflect policy changes in recertification for home health services that the Centers for Medicare

New MassHealth Bulletin for Behavioral Health Providers

14MarchBehavioral Health Today

The bulletin covers requirements related to documentation, record keeping, and clinical supervision in the delivery of MassHealth-covered behavioral health services. The last page of the bulletin provides a good list of resources for behavioral health practitioners. Click here to read

CMS to Release Improvements to Nursing Home Compare in April

5MarchNewsletter

Today, CMS announced updates coming next month to Nursing Home Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System. The April 2019 changes include revisions to the inspection process, enhancement of new staffing information, and implementation of new quality measures. The changes

Hospice Provider Preview Reports are Available Now

1MarchHospice Today

Hospice provider preview reports and Hospice CAHPS Survey provider preview reports have been updated and are now available. All providers should review their HIS quality measure results from Quarter 3, 2017 to Quarter 2, 2018 and their facility-level CAHPS survey

CMS Announces No Active Medicare Provider Enrollment Moratoria in any State

1FebruaryHome Health Today, Hospice Today, Newsletter

The Moratoria for Medicare Provider Enrollment has been lifted as of January 30, 2019, according to CMS. Providers can now enroll in all U.S. States and Territories. In previous years, CMS had extended and expanded restrictions on enrollment in an