The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided new guidance and updates on their Community-Based Care Transitions Program.
New panel review dates for submitting applications beyond August 18th have been posted and are as follows:
- October 6 & 7, 2011 – Applications must be received by September 6th to be considered for this review.
- November 15 & 16, 2011 – Applications must be received by October 14th to be considered for this review.
- November 30 & December 1, 2011 – Applications must be received by October 28th to be considered for this review.
Secondly, more than a full page of new guidance has been added to the program’s Question & Answer section. Below are a few examples:
- Q: How shall we anticipate to cover up front costs? I heard that CBOs would be paid a per eligible discharge rate that is determined by target population, interventions proposed, anticipated volume and expected reduction in readmissions (cost savings) Can you give a concrete example of how this payment methodology would work?
A: Because this program seeks to build off of earlier care transitions initiatives and requires applicants to have a track record in the delivery of care transition services we are not paying “start up” costs. CBOs will be paid on a monthly basis for services delivered in the previous month. This payment will be whatever the agreed upon per eligible discharge rate is multiplied by the number of eligible beneficiaries served in the previous month. Please refer to the budget worksheet available on our program webpage for additional guidance on developing the per eligible discharge rate.
- Q: The application information notes that two of the data sets needed are the Care Transitions 3-item, and the 13-item patient activation measure. Will the outcomes measurement be done through CMS rather than by us?
A: These are the patient experience measures that CBOs will be required to collect and report during the program. We will provide the instruments to awardees at the time of award.
The Home Care Alliance has also made a webinar available on the experiences from a previous CMS care transitions demonstration program that worked through 14 QIO’s across the US. The webinar focuses on, among other things, drawing from the Home Health Quality Improvement campaign’s Best Practices Intervention Package.
More info from this newsfeed on care transitions is available here.
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