Home Health Line
12/17/2012
CMS believes the impact of its M1024 restriction will be inconsequential, stating it has found that more than 99.6% of assessments would continue to receive the same case-mix weight when the payment diagnosis field is restricted to fracture codes only, resulting in a 0.04% decrease in payments to agencies, according the final 2013 PPS rule.
 
12/17/2012
If patients seem depressed due to the upcoming holidays, help them think back to their own positive associations with this time of year. However, be prepared to confront a more serious problem if symptoms of depression persist.
 
12/17/2012
CMS is asking for comment on plans to replace the Home Health Advance Beneficiary Notice (HHABN), according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Dec. 11.
12/10/2012
Now is a good time to review your process for counting visits toward therapy reassessment thresholds. Come Jan. 1, you’ll see several changes to the kinds of visits which figure into that count.
 
12/10/2012
Here’s an overview of the new rules for Jan. 1 and how they change the way you count visits, based on CMS guidance.
 
12/10/2012
Analyze your patient population and look for new ways to capture appropriate case-mix points to minimize your agency’s losses as a result of CMS’ change to M1024, the diagnosis payment slot.
 
12/10/2012

Additional staff training is the most popular strategy for dealing with CMS’ change to M1024, which takes effect Jan. 1.

 
12/10/2012
Three out of CMS’ four recovery auditors (RACs) have now posted complex review topics for home health agencies, and at least one agency already is starting to feel the auditors’ scrutiny.
 
12/10/2012
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has advised a hospital-based hospice it won’t challenge the hospice’s plan to coordinate free, non-skilled volunteer services for beneficiaries who may require Medicare hospice services in the near future.
 
12/10/2012
Hospital penalties have created opportunities for agencies to market their specialties to discharge planners as ways to reduce readmissions, but a similar approach can work for physicians too.
 

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