Revisions to Complaint Procedures for Home Care and Hospice

The Department of Health (DOH) issued a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) revising the complaint procedures for federally certified providers that include Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs), Long Term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs) and hospices. The changes outlined in the DAL are not for licensed home care services agencies.

The purpose of the DAL is for CHHAs, LTHHCPs and hospice providers to be in compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised and updated State Operations Manual, Chapter 5 and a memorandum issued in May 2014 on Complaint Procedures.

The changes outlined are in the area of categoring complaint allegations, and how the complaints will be handled by DOH. As stated in the DAL, Administrative Review/Offsite is no longer a complaint category for the above providers.

Any questions about this DAL should be directed to homecare@health.ny.gov.

Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871