CMS Releases New Home Health Change of Care (HHCCN) Form
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 …
Insights and News
Medicaid Can No Longer Pay Union Dues Under New CMS Policy
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’ …
Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund Will Run Out by 2026
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 …
CMS Releases a New Version of OASIS for 2020
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 …
CMS Finalizes Medicare Advantage and Part D Payment and Policy Updates for 2020
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 …
Important Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Updates for Home Health Providers
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 …
New MassHealth Bulletin for Behavioral Health Providers
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 …
CMS to Release Improvements to Nursing Home Compare in April
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 …
Hospice Provider Preview Reports are Available Now
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, …
CMS Announces No Active Medicare Provider Enrollment Moratoria in any State
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, …