An agency would be required to collect and submit an OASIS for a non-Medicare/non-Medicaid patient who had a SOC date of June 29, but the SOC assessment didn't get completed until on or after July 1, CMS clarified in the April quarterly OASIS Q&As. 
 
Any patient — regardless of payer — who does not meet an OASIS exemption, and who begins receiving home health services with an OASIS SOC M0090 (Date assessment completed) on or after July 1 will require OASIS data collection and submission to Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES), CMS added in their response. 
 
The OASIS exemptions include:  
  • Patients under the age of 18 
  • Patients receiving only maternity services 
  • Patients receiving only chore, housekeeping or personal care services 
 
An OASIS is not required when there is only one visit in a quality episode, CMS reminds. 
 
This was one of 11 questions included in the most recent update, several of which pertain to the OASIS all-payer changes coming July 1. 
 
Additional topics covered in the January release include:   
  • Whether or not you can update responses to the J0150-J0530 (Pain interview) if the patient’s status changes during the assessment timeframe. 
  • How you should respond to M0150 (Current payment sources for home care) if the patient’s care if being reimbursed by multiple payers (for example, Medicare and Medicaid). 
 
For a full story, see the upcoming issues of Home Health Line and Diagnosis Coding Pro for Home Health.   
   
Editor’s note: To view the full CMS April 2025 quarterly OASIS Q&As, visit https://tinyurl.com/ywxk2v9s.