Home Health Line
01/12/2015
As of Jan. 1, Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) CGS has begun reviewing face-to-face encounter documentation when scrutinizing any home health episode — not just the initial episode — for appropriateness.  
 
01/12/2015
Primary diagnoses in category 998 (a surgical wound complication that often requires expensive dressings) were the least profitable in home health in 2013. That’s according to data from Seattle-based National Research Corporation showing the industry’s least profitable primary diagnoses. The data are representative of more than 1 million PPS episodes in 2013. The information came from more than 2,000 provider locations nationwide and is based on standard episodes. 
 
01/12/2015
Cutting edge hospices are working to get ahead of the game by using crosswalks from existing patient satisfaction surveys to identify areas they may need help when the Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey launches April 1.
 
01/08/2015
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Jan. 6 issued an order denying Medicare’s effort to have the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) lawsuit about the face-to-face requirement dismissed.
 
 
01/05/2015
Many agencies plan to shift roles internally and educate physicians in order to prepare for the changing face-to-face requirements and to prevent future denials.
 
01/05/2015
The results are in: home health agencies nationwide believe the scheduled implementation of ICD-10 — more than payment cuts, Medicare audits or face-to-face changes — will have the biggest impact on home health operations and financials in 2015.
 
01/05/2015
Agencies will receive extensive, ongoing training this year for OASIS-C1/ICD-9, which took effect Jan. 1.
 
01/05/2015
What it will take to satisfy the quality assurance performance improvement (QAPI) provisions of the proposed home health CoPs is becoming apparent to Medicare-certified agencies. Compared with CMS’ estimate of a relatively mild economic impact, the news isn’t good.
 
01/05/2015
The home health industry saw a significant uptick in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2014. While the valuations of larger agencies remained high, the bifurcated market showing low valuations of mom-and-pop agencies is likely to continue into 2015.
 
01/05/2015
Many agencies plan on taking advantage of the latest and greatest in technology trends, such as mobile telehealth, to meet growing challenges faced by the industry.
 

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