Federal Regulatory Update for HCBS Providers

HHCAHPS Survey Deadline for Exemption

The Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) team has issued a reminder to all Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) that the deadline for submitting an exemption from participating in the HHCAHPS Survey for Calendar Year (CY) 2023 is 11:59 p.m. ET on Thurs., March 31, 2022. Medicare-certified HHAs that served 59 or fewer unduplicated patients between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 who met survey eligibility criteria can submit a Participation Exemption Request (PER) for the CY 2023 Annual Payment Update (APU). HHAs can access the online PER form on the HHCAHPS website.

Updated Hospice QRP Claims-Based Measures Q&A

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an updated question and answer (Q&A) document regarding two new claims-based measures in the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (QRP): Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life (HVLDL) and Hospice Care Index (HCI). The update includes additional information on calculating and reporting claims-based measures based on additional questions from the hospice community.

Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Expansion

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is expanding its Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model nationwide as of Jan. 1, 2022. This year is a pre-implementation year to allow HHAs time to learn about the expanded model without risk to payments.

CMMI hosted an HHVBP Technical Assistance Call on Feb. 10^th. A recording of the event is available here, and the event slides, Model Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and other resources are available on the HHVBP homepage.

OASIS-E Updates

In the CY 2022 Home Health Rule, CMS finalized the implementation date of Outcome and Assessment Information Set Version E (OASIS-E) for Jan. 1, 2023. Implementation was previously delayed to provide HHAs flexibility during the Public Health Emergency. The updated draft OASIS-E is now available in the Downloads section of the OASIS Data Sets webpage. The instrument is not final. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval is required and expected later this year.

Announcing New Home Health and Hospice Advisory Groups

Starting in March, LeadingAge National will be hosting monthly virtual Home Health and Hospice Advisory Groups for all interested members. The LeadingAge National team has put together a quick survey for agencies to share their most pressing issues and identify their interest in these groups. If you have any questions, please reach out to Katy Barnett or Mollie Gurian.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-929-9342