Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare MLN Matters Number: MM12015 with same title as this blog was posted November 6, 2020. This MLN Matters Article is for hospice and non-hospice providers submitting claims to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), including Home Health & Hospice (HH&H) MACs, for hospice and non-hospice services provided to…… Continue reading Manual Updates Related to the Hospice Election Statement and the Implementation of the Election Statement Addendum

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare An Office of Inspector General (OIG) report posted in November 2019 found that Registered Nurses (RNs) didn’t always: Visit hospice patients’ homes at least once every 14 days to assess the quality of care and services provided by hospice aidesDocument these visits as required The Enhancing…… Continue reading Hospice Aide Services: Enhancing RN Supervision

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center’s Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model team will host a technical support webinar to provide an overview of the Hospice Benefit Component Technical and Operational Guidance. Further, starting later this month, the VBID Model team will host…… Continue reading VBID Hospice Benefit Component Technical Support Series

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On October 5, 2020, CMS issued this QSO-21-01-Hospice memorandum.  It is 2 pages in length.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On October 1, 2020, CMS posted the list of successful hospices for FY 2021 Hospice QRP.  These hospices met the CY 2019 hospice quality data reporting requirements that impact FY 2021 payment.  Successful hospices receive their full annual payment update (APU). As stated in the Fiscal…… Continue reading Hospice QRP APU FY 2021: Successful Facilities List Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare MLN Connects has provided a Fact Sheet: Creating an Effective Hospice Plan of Care that hospice providers will want to review and share with their team. “The hospice Plan of Care (POC) maps out needs and services supplied for a Medicare patient facing a terminal illness,…… Continue reading Creating an Effective Hospice Plan of Care

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare As part of the development of hospice quality measures, Abt Associates, under contract with CMS, convened a Technical Expert Panel (TEP).  This report provides a summary of their first in-person, November 2019 TEP Meeting.  It includes background on the focus of this TEP and purpose of…… Continue reading Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) November 2019 Technical Expert Panel (TEP) Report

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides a web-based training course for hospices wanting a resource to the many trainings offered related to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP).  The goal is to assist hospice staff to better determine and access those trainings and…… Continue reading Web-Based Course on Hospice QRP Education and Training Resources by Topic with Hotlinks for Easy Access Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On July 31, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule CMS-1733-F      that updates fiscal year (FY) 2021 Medicare payment rates and the wage index for hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries. CMS is publishing this final rule consistent with the legal requirements to update…… Continue reading Hospice FY2021 Final Rule Issued