Important August Dates for Home Care Providers
August 5 - Home Health Quality Metrics training
LeadingAge New York, in partnership with LeadingAge national and other LeadingAge state affiliates, developed Home Health Quality Metrics, an interactive web-based data analytic tool to help LeadingAge home health members analyze their quality measures relative to their peers. Users can create custom benchmark groups and make comparisons using various types of analyses.
The new Star Rating measure has been added to the 29 existing measures currently available in the data tool. As we previously reported, nationally, 46% of Home Health Agencies (HHAs) received either a 3 or 3.5 star rating while 28% received 2.5 stars or lower, and 26% received 4 stars or higher. In New York, 54% of HHAs received a 3 or 3.5 star rating while 30% received 2.5 stars or lower, and only 16% received 4 stars or higher.
The next training webinar for Home Health Quality Metrics will be conducted on Wed., Aug. 5 from 11:00-12:00 p.m. On-demand training is also available. For additional information on how to access Home Health Quality Metrics contact us at qualitymetrics@leadingageny.org.
Contact: Linda Spokane, lspokane@leadingageny.org, 518.867.8857
August 6 - LeadingAge Conference Call on Calendar Year (CY) 2016 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS)
LeadingAge national will be hosting a conference call on Aug. 6 and Aug. 19 at 12 p.m. to discuss questions and concerns regarding the HH PPS. This call is open to all LeadingAge state affiliates and LeadingAge NY members have been invited to participate. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have requested comments on several areas in the proposed rule, including implementing the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HH VBP) model in Jan. 2016.
The call in number: 866-266-3378
Conference ID: 2025089406
Participant Code: 5277
August 15 - CHHA Cost Report Due Before Aug. 15
As a reminder, the Department of Health (DOH) posted a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) for the 2014 cost report and the cost report software for non-hospital-based Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs) to the Health Commerce System (HCS) website. The DAL and its related attachments include detailed information about the electronic certification system, which is to be utilized in connection with the 2014 cost report. The certifications are available on the HCS website.
The DAL highlights changes to the 2014 Cost Report for those agencies reporting only CHHA expenses and including any expenses of an affiliated Long Term Home Health Care Program (LTHHCP). The DAL notes that current services and charges are listed on Schedule I, details on accountant and operator electronic certifications, how to file the report, and numerous contacts for questions and assistance.
Please note the 2014 CHHA Cost Report must be filed with DOH no later than Sat., Aug. 15, 2015.
If you have any questions regarding this DAL, please contact Charles Tobey or Tim Casey in the BLTCRS home care unit at 518-473-4421.
August 15 - LTHHCP Cost Report Due Before Aug. 15
As a reminder, the Department of Health (DOH) posted the 2014 cost report software for Long Term Home Health Care Program (LTHHCP) agencies to the HCS. Included in the Dear Administrator Letter (DAL), and its related attachments, is information about the electronic certification system. The certifications are also available on the HCS website.
Please note the 2014 LTHHCP Cost Report must be filed with DOH no later than Sat., Aug. 15, 2015.
Any questions or concerns on accessing HCS, the electronic certification process, or for completing and submission of the cost report, contact Russ Smith at DOH at 518-473-4421.
August 19 - LeadingAge Conference Call on Calendar Year (CY) 2016 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) - See Aug. 6 for details.
Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871