The latest release of the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPERs) has added a more focused review of functional status.  
 
CMS released fourth quarter calendar year 2021 PEPPER reports for home health agencies on July 8.  
 
These reports summarize provider-specific data for Medicare services that may be at risk for improper payments. Use the data to support internal auditing and monitoring activities.
 
New in the latest release: The percentage of periods with a functional impairment level of medium and the percentage with a functional level of high.
 
Outliers would be those agencies with a score at or above the 80th percentile, according to the HHA PEPPER User’s Guide
 
“This could indicate over-representation of the functional impairment status on the OASIS,” the guide states. “A review of OASIS responses of functional impairment may be warranted to confirm the accuracy of the responses.”