Federal Updates for Home Health
Home health members should be aware of the following updates provided by LeadingAge National:
Next Home Health, Hospice, and DME Open Door Forum Tomorrow, Wed., April 19th. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host the next Home Health, Hospice, and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Open Door Forum tomorrow, Wed., April 19, 2023, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET. Topics to be discussed during this forum include updates on the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) Survey, Expanded Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model updates, Home Health Quality Assessment Only (QAO) reports, and Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) quarterly questions, as well as updates on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Hospice Proposed Rule. To connect to the call, dial 1-888-455-1397 and Reference Conference Passcode 4325849.
HHCAHPS Quarter 4 Data Submission Deadline Reminder. The next data submission deadline for HHCAHPS data, for Quarter 4 of 2022, is Thurs., April 20, 2023. To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. ET on April 20, 2023, agencies and their vendors must submit all Quarter 4 files on or before Wed., April 19, 2023. Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, home health agencies should make sure to check data submission reports to verify that all of the submitted files were accepted, as well as correct and resubmit all files before the data submission deadline.
Home Health Preview Reports and Star Rating Preview Reports for July 2023 Refresh Now Available. For this refresh, Home Health OASIS will be based on the standard number of quarters. The July 2023 refresh will add a new claims-based measure for public reporting: Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations (PPH). This is a long-awaited measure for home health providers. Due to the COVID-19 reporting exceptions, the claims-based measures have been calculated excluding Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 2020 data from measure calculations. For a refresher on the PPH for home health, click here.
CMS Releases Materials from Medicare Home Health PPS Webinar. If you missed the opportunity to listen to the webinar on the development of the Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Home Health Prospective Payment System, CMS has released the updated presentation, audio of the conversation, as well as a transcript of the call.
- Updated Presentation (updates to slides 35 and 42)
- Audio (Passcode: =u.#r7XD)
- Transcript
Home Health Original Claims: Do Not Include Cross-Reference Document Control Numbers. Effective April 1, 2023, Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will return original home health claims (Type of Bill 0329) with cross-reference document control numbers (XREF DCN). Home health agencies should only submit these control numbers on adjustment claims. More information:
- Sections 130.1, 160, and 160.1, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 1
- Instruction to Your MAC
ICYMI: Expanded HHVBP Model Self-Assessment Tool Webinar Materials Now Available. Last month, the HHVBP Technical Assistance team hosted a webinar on new tools and resources for self-assessment in the expanded model. If you missed that conversation, CMS has posted the following materials:
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871