Home Health Line
12/16/2013
Even if the resumption of care (ROC) assessment is completed late, you may still answer “Yes” in M2250 (Plan of care synopsis) if the relevant orders were present within the 48-hour ROC timeframe.
12/16/2013
The percentage of registered nurses (RNs) leaving home health agencies this year has increased slightly, while the percentage of licensed practical nurses (LPNs) leaving agencies dropped by nearly 2% from last year.
12/09/2013
The final 2014 PPS rule will reduce Medicare payments to home health agencies by 1.05% or $200 million, CMS estimates. That’s slightly better than the 1.5% CMS originally proposed. 
 
12/09/2013
CMS has removed case-mix status from 170 current ICD-9 codes, including GERD, effective Jan. 1, 2014, according to the final 2014 PPS rule. The resulting loss of case-mix points could end up costing agencies hundreds of dollars per episode.
 
12/09/2013
You’ll have to wait until July 2014 to learn how your payment will change in ICD-10, but your coders won’t need to relearn the ICD-10 coding payment rules as Appendix D will be retired with the implementation of ICD-10.
 
12/09/2013
Agencies will see two new claims-based measures added to Home Health Compare in CY 2015, which will give them a leg up when approaching referral sources.
 
12/09/2013
The 2014 PPS final rule will have a negative impact on the home health industry, causing agencies to make difficult choices about how to survive. 
 
12/09/2013
CMS is revising the per-visit rates by a market basket update of 2.3%. 
12/09/2013
Agencies in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington will see a payment increase of 0.34% in 2014, the best deal under CMS’ final policies. Meanwhile, agencies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas will see the biggest reduction of 1.74%. CMS’ proposals also would hit proprietary and government providers harder than nonprofit agencies. 
11/25/2013
Ensure your documentation supports ongoing treatment of long-term chronic conditions — auditors are still honing in on this area.

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