Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On April 8, 2021, CMS issued a proposed rule that would provide routine updates to hospice base payments and the aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. This proposed rule also includes a comment solicitation regarding hospice utilization. In addition, this rule proposes to rebase…… Continue reading Hospice Payment Rate Update for FY 2022

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting a webinar on Thursday, April 15, 2021 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET. The purpose of this training is to provide a general overview of the changes included in the Hospice Item Set (HIS) Manual…… Continue reading Changes in the Hospice Item Set (HIS) Manual V3.00: What You Need to Know

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Hospice Item Set (HIS) Manual V3.00(126 pages), effective February 16, 2021, is now available. HIS Manual V3.00 has been updated from V2.01 to reflect the removal of Section O and associated measures. TheHospice Item Set – Admission v3.00 and the Hospice Item Set – Discharge…… Continue reading Version 3.00 of the HIS Manual is Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare A new document, entitled “Common Questions-HQRP Claims-Based-Quality Measures: February 2021” is now available in the Downloads section of the Hospice Item Set (HIS) page. This document will give providers information and answers to some common questions about the HQRP including changes in the draft HIS Manual V3.00;…… Continue reading Update: Common Questions – Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Claims-Based-Quality Measures: February 2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare In the February 11, 2021 edition of  MLN Connects, you’ll find this posting of valuable hospice resources (information in brackets added by me): An Office of Inspector General (OIG) report [38 pages – July 2019] found that most hospices have at least one deficiency in their…… Continue reading Hospices: Create an Effective Plan of Care

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Chapter 11_Processing Hospice Claims of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual was revised as of October 30, 2020 (implementation December 1, 2020), specifically Sections: 20.1.2 – Notice of Termination/Revocation (NOTR)30.3 – Data Required on the Institutional Claim to A/B MAC (HHH)40.2 – Processing Professional Claims for Hospice…… Continue reading Chapter 11 – Processing Hospice Claims Revised + Hospice Fact Sheet

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare This document provides Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP)-related updates on events and guidance from the 4th Quarter of 2020 (October-December 2020) and prepares for 1st Quarter of 2021 (January –March 2021). Some examples of what you’ll find in the document are: The Hospice Quality Reporting Program…… Continue reading Hospice Quality Reporting Program: Quarterly Updates for October – December 2020

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