Hello, Everyone!
Here are some home health-related updates for this week:
AMITY’S NEWS
Did you know that ….
… Amity Healthcare Group provides ICD-10 coding and documentation review as follows:
- ICD – 10 Coding
- OASIS Review + ICD – 10 coding
- OASIS Review + POC (Plan of Care) Review
- OASIS Review + ICD – 10 Coding + POC (Plan of Care) Review
- Episodic documentation review
- Quality Trends Analysis and QAPI Development
Take advantage of the optimal reimbursement with the precise ICD-10 coding, accurate documentation, and improved quality scores.
For more information or a free trial, please contact us at 303-690-2749 or email at ig@amityhealthcaregroup.com
Did you know that ….
…Amity Healthcare Group is the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) approved provider for First Time Administrator/Manager training and education. Allow us to help you to maintain your compliance with initial and/or annual education requirements using our user-friendly web-based on-demand training for home health and home care administrators and managers.
For more information or a free trial, please contact us at 303-690-2749 or email at ig@amityhealthcaregroup.com
Webinar: Plan Ahead: 5 Key Strategies to Prepare Now for Home Health Value-Based Purchasing
Join Irina Gorovaya, owner and President of Amity Healthcare Group, and ACHCU for a free webinar 5 Key Strategies to Prepare Now for Home Health Value Based Purchasing presented at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 24, 2022.
Learn about the expectations and requirements of the expanded HHVBP model and discover how to effectively use the pre-implementation year to prepare, make necessary changes, and align appropriate resources to be competitive and successful in the HHVBP model.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the primary components of HHVBP model
- Review potential challenges and benefits associated with HHVBP
- Identify key strategies to successfully prepare for the HHVBP model during the pre-implementation year
NATIONAL NEWS
Sequestration Resumes for Medicare Providers
As you may know, a suspension on the sequestration related to the Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act was put in place due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). The sequestration was suspended through March 31, 2022.
Effective April 1, 2022, the one percent sequestration payment adjustment will be applied for claims with dates of services from April 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022. The sequestration payment adjustment will revert to the two percent rate for claims with dates of services as of July 1, 2022. This will bring the total sequestration rate to two percent, which was the rate in effect prior to the PHE.
For home health providers, the adjustment applies to the respective “through” date on the claim. The sequestration payment adjustment decrease will appear on the RA with a CARC 253, used to report the sequestration reduction. The code will appear as a CO 253 on the RA “Sequestration – reduction in federal payment” as the reason.
Correction to Quality of Patient Care Star Rating Preview Reports for the July 2022 Refresh
There are incorrect date ranges included for the Acute Care Hospitalization measure on the Quality of Patient Care Star Rating Preview Report, however, all included provider measure scores are accurate.
The report should note that the Acute Care Hospitalization claims-based measure reports data from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Though the date range represents a calendar year, the reporting period for most home health agencies will be approximately three quarters of a year because of CMS-approved data exemptions for home health episodes that begin or end in the two COVID-19 exempted quarters of Q1 and Q2 2020. Due to the COVID-19 reporting exceptions, the claims-based measures have been calculated excluding Q1 and Q2 2020 data from measure calculations. Please note, any if you have proof that there are errors in calculating your Quality of Patient Care Star Rating, you may request a review of your rating by submitting that proof. Requests must be submitted by May 20, 2022 to HHC_Star_Ratings_Review_
Update to Chapter 7, “Home Health Services,” of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual (Pub 100-02)
On April 27, 2022, CMS issued an update to Chapter 7, “Home Health Services,” to include revisions to the following areas:
- Calendar Year (CY) 2022’s Policy Implementation of the Notice of Admission (NOA)
- The elimination of the Request for Anticipated Payment (RAP) policy
- Corrections and clarifications regarding who may sign the certification and recertification for home health people with Medicare
The renewal of the PHE will last for 90 days (until July 15th), at which point it will either lapse or be renewed again. HHS will issue at least 60 days’ notice prior to the termination of the public health emergency declaration for COVID-19.
Expanded HHVBP Model – Achievement Thresholds and Benchmarks in IQIES
As was expected, the achievement thresholds and benchmarks for each quality measure in the expanded HHVBP Model are now available on the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) portal: https://iqies.cms.gov.
The achievement thresholds and benchmarks were calculated by cohort (please note what cohort size you belong to) using quality measure data for the Model baseline year, which is calendar year (CY) 2019 for the CY 2023 performance year/CY 2025 payment year.
Information on how to access the achievement thresholds and benchmarks is available on the Expanded HHVBP Model webpage, Instructions for Accessing the Achievement Thresholds and Benchmarks in iQIES.
Should you experience difficulty locating the HHVBP file, please contact the iQIES Help desk staff by email at iQIES@cms.hhs.gov or by phone at (800) 339-9313.
COLORADO NEWS
Enrollment License Requirement and License Panel Updates
The Department of Health Care Policy and Finance is reminding the providers that current Health First Colorado providers that are required to maintain a license as part of their enrollment will be receiving a letter from the Department when the primary license is approaching expiration or has reached its expiration date. Providers are reminded that Health First Colorado enrollment may be inactivated if the provider’s license, certification, or accreditation has expired or is subject to conditions or restrictions.
The License panel of the Provider Web Portal (Provider Maintenance function) was recently updated to require additional information when adding a new license or updating/renewing an existing license. This update only impacts provider types and specialties required to submit and maintain a license(s) as part of their Health First Colorado enrollment. Visit the Information by Provider Type web page for license requirements by provider type and specialty.
Reference the Revalidation Manual available on the Revalidation web page or the Revalidation Quick Guide web page for details on adding or updating a license for revalidation applications. Visit the Provider Maintenance – License Update Quick Guide web page for instruction on adding or updating a license through a Provider Maintenance request.
Provider Enrollment: Application Fees, Fingerprinting and Site Visits
If any of the requirements required for provider enrollment, including application fees, were waived for the Public Health Emergency (PHE), they will be required to continue provider enrollment.
As the result, some of you might have received the following notification from HCPF:
Dear Provider,
Our records indicate that your Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) provider enrollment application fee was waived due to the public health emergency (PHE). Any provider enrollment requirements waived during the PHE must be completed to continue enrollment beyond the PHE. This includes paying an application fee if required for your provider type.
If you have not already done so, please complete payment for your enrollment application fee as soon as possible through the Provider Maintenance feature of the Provider Web Portal. Reference the Paying a Previously Waived Enrollment Application Fee document for more instructions.
Contact the Provider Services Call Center with any additional enrollment questions.
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Thank you,
Irina Gorovaya, RN BSN, MBA
Amity Healthcare Group, LLC
Home Health Consulting, Education and Outsourcing Services
720-353-7249 (cell) 303-690-2749 (office) 720-398-6200 (fax)
www.amityhealthcaregroup.com