HCA Sets Improved State Policy Agenda

With a new two-year state legislative session, the Home Care Alliance has set an improved policy agenda that would strengthen the industry and asks for assistance from member agencies and fellow advocates in gathering legislative support.

boston-statehouseThe Alliance’s legislative priorities include re-filed items like the “Nurse Delegation” bill, which would allow visiting nurses to delegate certain medication administration tasks to home health and hospice aides in the home setting only. New items include establishing a “certificate of need” process for certified home health care and a state program allowing cities to grant parking leniency to clinicians visiting patients in those communities.
HCA members, friends, and advocates can assist our mission by contacting their local state senators and state representatives and ask that they cosponsor these bills. If you are unsure who represents your agency or place of residence, please visit www.wheredoivotema.com and type in your address, or contact James Fuccione at the Alliance.

 
Over the coming weeks, HCA will be alerting members about bills filed by other organizations and interest groups and will be asked to weigh in. The Alliance will, of course, continue to monitor and provide updates on the state’s health care payment reform law as it is implemented. Alliance staff and several member agencies sit on key boards, commissions and advisory groups and important information will be provided as it becomes available on those issues.

For more on HCA’s legislative priorities and how you can help, contact James Fuccione at the Alliance.

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REMINDERS RE ACCOUNT ACTIVATION AND DATA SUBMISSION

Hospice Information from CMS ––

CMS requested that providers are reminded about registering for accounts for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program – the text follows.

Hospice Quality Reporting Program Data Entry/Submission Website now Available

Structural Measure Data Submission Deadline 1/31/13

 The data entry site for Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) data submission is live and active for provider use. The link to the data entry site is available on the Data Submission portion of the CMS HQRP website under “Related Links.” As providers may experience unexpected technical issues when registering for/activating their account, providers should not wait until all of their data is compiled to register for and activate their account. Early account creation and activation will help ensure that providers do not miss the 1/31/13 deadline for the structural measure. In order to meet the 1/31/13 structural measure deadline, providers should:

  1. Review the Technical User Guide for Hospice Quality Reporting Data Entry and Submission located on the CMS Hospice Quality Reporting Data Submission web page. It is imperative that providers review the Guide prior to registering for a user account. The Guide provides step-by-step instruction on registration, data entry, and submission of hospice quality reporting data. Also available is the Hospice Quality Reporting Program Data Entry and Submission WebEx recording. The recording is available on the Hospice Training page of the QTSO website.
  2. Register for a User Account. Visit the data entry website and create an account. Please note, hospice organizations will only be allowed one user account per CMS Certification Number (CCN). Hospices should carefully select the ONE individual that will enter required quality data for both measures. Thus, if you do not intend to complete the tasks of registration, data entry, attestation and submission for a specific hospice provider, please do not register for an account.
    Providers should register for an account now, even if they are not ready to submit their data immediately.
  1. Activate the User Account. After registering for an account, providers will receive a registration activation email from hospice.quality.report@GDIT.com to activate their account. To activate your account you must click on the link in the body of the email. If the Hospice Registration Activation E-mail is not received, please take the following steps:
    1. If you have more than one e-mail address, check all your email accounts in case you registered with a different account.
    2. If the activation email has not been received at any of your email accounts, take the following steps for each account:
      1. Check all your Mail folders, not just your inbox.
      2.  Look in any folders marked Junk or Spam for an e-mail from hospice.quality.report@GDIT.com.
      3. If you do not have access to a Junk or Spam folder, check with your e-mail technical support staff to see if your mail server may have trapped the e-mail.
      4. If you are unable to locate the e-mail, contact the QIES Help Desk at help@qtso.com for a Deactivation Form.
      5. Once you receive the Deactivation Form, fill it out completely and return it to the address on the form. Your registration attempt will be removed and you will be notified when you can register once again.  We strongly recommend you use a different e-mail address for the new registration.
  2. Once the account is activated, login and complete the Hospice Provider Information page on the data entry website.
  3. Enter your structural measure and NQF #0209 data. Providers do not have to enter all of their data in one sitting. Data for both measures can be saved on the data entry website and returned to at a later date.
  4. Attest to and submit data to CMS through the data entry website. Once your data entry for either measure is complete and accurate, submit and attest to the data for that measure.
    • Data for the structural measure must be attested to and submitted to CMS no later than January 31, 2013. Data for the NQF #0209 Pain Measure must be attested to and submitted to CMS no later than April 1, 2013.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

NHIC- Ask the Contractor January 17th

The Medicare Administrative Contractor, NHIC. Corp., will hold the Hospice & Home Health Ask the Contractor Teleconference (ACT) on January 17th at 10:00 a.m.

Ask-the-Contractor Teleconference is an opportunity to speak directly with the contractor. NHIC staff representing a variety of functions will be available to answer questions. NHIC usually will provide some updates to the home health and hospice community but the majority of this call is dedicated to providers as a question and answer open forum.

Registration is required on NHIC’s website- Education Programs.

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HIPAA Breaches Must be Reported to Secretary of HHS by March 1, 2013

Breaches involving less than 500 individuals

For breaches of unsecured protected health information involving less than 500 individuals, a home health agency must maintain a log or other documentation of these breaches. The agency must also provide notification of breaches to the Secretary of HHS by March 1, 2013. (no later than 60 days after the end of the calendar year)

This notice must be submitted electronically (Instructions for Submitting Notice)  and all information must be completed on the Breach Notification Form. A separate form must be completed for every breach that has occurred during the calendar year.

For specifics of the federal regulation see Notification in the Case of Breach of Unsecured Protected Health Information

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Caregiver Videos: Working Effectively With An Agency

Last week, we introduced the Care Giver Video Resource Center, our YouTube series for family care providers about home care and home care agencies.

In the second video in the series, Melanie Lewis & Jennifer St. Onge of Guardian Angel Senior Services, Inc. answer questions from family care giver Lisa Krauss about the care her mother receives.

Topics include:

  • Communicating with the agency;
  • Rescheduling an appointment;
  • Understanding your service agreement/contract;
  • Can agency care givers help with financial matters?

To view the full series, visit our YouTube channel.  To access library of hundreds of care giver resources on a variety of subjects, visit www.eldercareskills.org, who produced the videos with us.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

ACOs Expanded in Massachusetts

Last week, CMS announced 106 new ACOs, bringing the total approved by CMS since passage of the Affordable Care Act to 250. The nine newly designated “Shared Savings”  ACOs in Massachusetts are:

Accountable Care Organization of New England (led by Mercy Medical Center President & CEO Dan Moen); Cambridge Public Health Commission (Cambridge Health Alliance CEO Patrick Wardell); Cape Cod Health Network ACO (Cape Cod Health’s Sr. VP, Managed Care Jack Lipomi); Lahey Clinical Performance Accountable Care Organization (Lahey Health System Chief Network Development Officer Gregory Bazylewicz, M.D.); Pioneer Valley Accountable Care (CEO of Baycare Health Partners Stephen Sweet, M.D., affiliated with Baystate Health System); Southcoast Accountable Care Organization (Southcoast Hospitals Group President & CEO Keith Hovan); Total Accountable Care Organization DBA Collaborative Health ACO (President of MetroWest Accountable Healthcare Organization Bethany M. Gilboard); Winchester Community ACO (Winchester Hospital Board of Directors member Dale Lodge); and Accountable Care Clinical Services (Chairman and CEO of Accountable Care Associates, Dr. Philip F. Gaziano).

Here is the official list from CMS of all 106 ACOs and their contact information.

In other ACO news, this week’s  MHA Monday Report reports that Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has redesigned  their existing Pioneer ACO.  They are entering into a partnership with the 1,600 physician Beth Israel Deaconess Physician Organization to create the newly designed Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization (BIDCO).

According to a press release from BIDMC, “The hospitals and physicians will work in 50-50 partnership within BIDCO, sharing governance, joint contracting, and risk. It is designed to accommodate community hospitals and physicians that are not owned or employed by BIDMC, and results in a restructuring of the current Beth Israel Deaconess Physician Organization to add hospital ownership for purposes of jointly contracting with payers in the future.” The hospitals and physicians will jointly invest $12 million annually for five years to improve the coordination of patient care among hospitals and physicians, as well as to increase the ability of caregivers to focus on population health management.

The Beth Israel Deaconess Physician Organization had previously been designated by CMS as one of only 32 Pioneer ACOs – a designation recognizing groups that had taken an early lead in coordinating care for patients across care settings. That Pioneer designation transfers to the BIDCO.

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Guest Post: Flu Activity

By: Donna Lazorik, RN, MS
Deputy Program Manager for Program Development, Immunization Program
Massachusetts Dept. Public Health

National Flu Activity

Flu activity continues to increase in the U.S., according to CDC’s latest FluView report.  “Reports of influenza-like-illness (ILI) are nearing what have been peak levels during moderately severe seasons,” according to Dr. Joe Bresee, Chief of the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch in CDC’s Influenza Division.  “Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now,”

While the timing of flu seasons is impossible to predict, based on past experience it’s likely that flu activity will continue for some time.  During the past 10 seasons, ILI remained at or above baseline for an average of 12 consecutive weeks.  One factor that may indicate increased severity this season is that the predominant circulating type of influenza virus is influenza A (H3N2) viruses, which account for about 76% of the viruses reported.  Bresee explains “typically ‘H3N2 seasons’ have been more severe, with higher numbers of hospitalizations and deaths, but we will have to see how the season plays out.” Continue reading “Guest Post: Flu Activity”

Guest Post: Think Like a Home Care Professional

By: Patricia O’Brien, MBA, MS, RN, Executive Director of Hebrew Senior Life.

Re-posted with permission from Hebrew SeniorLife Blog.

The Five Minute Assessment Families Can Do

Elder At Home A loose railing. A dusty table. Expired milk in the refrigerator. These can all seem like simple problems, but may actually be signs of bigger issues for seniors. That loose railing can mean difficulty making it up stairs. Ignored dust can hint at eye sight trouble or that house work has become too strenuous. Expired food can mean a senior is not getting the right nutrition or simply needs help getting to the store more often.

It’s these small things that affect a senior’s quality of life in a big way. I’m proud that our staff at HSL is trained to immediately notice issues, big and small, and offer advice to improve a myriad of situations relating to senior home health care. Within five minutes of visiting a senior, home care professionals have completed an environmental assessment that includes potential safety risks or signs of potential problems.

Continue reading “Guest Post: Think Like a Home Care Professional”

Home Health and Hospice Education Webinars for 1st Quarter 2013.

The Medicare Administrative Contractor for Massachusetts, NHIC, Corp. has posted upcoming Home Health and Hospice Education Webinars for January-March 2013.  Providers are encouraged to participate in these educational sessions.

More information on registration, materials, and training assessments are provided on the Education Programs Information section for NHIC website. Note: Registration is required for all programs.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Reminder- “Home Health and Hospice ODF” – Wednesday, January 9th

The next Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET).

Proposed Agenda

1. Proposal to discontinue the Home Health Advance Beneficiary Notice (HHABN), Form CMS-R-296, and replace the HHABN with a new Home Health Change of Care Notice (HHCCN), Form CMS-10280, and the existing Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), Form CMS-R-131.

2. HHCAPS

3. Home Health Study regarding Access to Care

4. Home Health & Hospice Quality Reporting Update

5. Retroactive Grouper Change for Basel Cell, Squamous Cell, and Unspecified Malignant Cancers for Home Health Services Rendered October 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012

6. Update to OASIS Web-Based Training at: http://surveyortraining.cms.hhs.gov , Addition of Module, OASIS C Online Training: Patient Tracking Domain

7. Flu Vaccination Announcement

8.  Open Q&A

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Dial: 1-800-837-1935 & Reference Conference ID: 78868196.

The audio recording of this call that can be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 and entering the Conference ID beginning 2 hours after the call has ended. The recording expires after 2 business days

Encore: 1-855-859-2056; Conference ID: 78868196

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.