Tag: CMS

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

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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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.

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Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment Open Door Forum

Save the Date:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold the next Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Open Door Forum  on Wednesday, January 9, 2013, from 2:00pm – 3:00pm, ET.

To participate in the call, dial: 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 78868196

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Planned Revisions to Home Health Beneficiary Notice-Open for Public Comment

Presently home health agencies (HHAs) are required to use the Home Health Advance Beneficiary Notice (HHABN), CMS-R-296 to provide beneficiaries with change of care notification consistent with HHA Conditions of Participation (COPs) in addition to its liability notice function. Option Box 1 addresses liability, Option Box 2 addresses change of care for agency reasons, and Option Box 3 addresses change of care due to provider orders.

In CMS’ effort to “streamline, reduce, and simplify notices to Medicare beneficiaries,” HHABN Option Box 1, the liability notice portion, will be replaced by the existing Advanced Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) which is approved by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for conveying information on beneficiary liability. CMS will introduce the “Home Health Change of Care Notice” (HHCCN) as a separate, distinct document to give change of care notice in compliance with HHA conditions of participation. The HHCCN will replace both Option Box 2 and Option Box 3 formats of the HHABN. The single page format of the HHCCN is designed to specify whether the change of care is due to agency reasons or provider orders. Form Number: CMS–10280 (OCN: 0938–New) To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, go to CMS’ Web Site address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/, or Email your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and CMS document identifier, to Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326.

The full notice and details for submitting public comments on the proposed changes can be accessed in the Federal Register.  Comments are due by February 11, 2013

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CMS Updates Policy Requirements for Medical Record Corrections

CMS released Transmittal 442, Change Request (CR) 8105 on December 7th. It provides instructions to Medicare contractors regarding amended, corrected, and delayed entries in medical records. This updates the CMS Medicare Program Integrity Manual, Section 3.3.2.5 effective January 8, 2013.

According to this Change Request, the MACs, CERT, Recovery Auditors, and ZPICs are instructed NOT to consider entries that don’t comply with recordkeeping principles, even if exclusion of an entry will result in a claim denial.

In the manual update, “providers are encouraged to enter all relevant documents and entries into the medical record at the time they are rendering the service.” However, the policy goes on to acknowledge that there may be occasions when documentation was not completed or completed properly and may need to be amended. Medicare contractors are told that they are to consider all submitted entries that comply with the widely accepted Recordkeeping Principles, but NOT consider any entries that do not comply with the principles.

Recordkeeping principles for record amendments apply to both paper and electronic medical records. These principles include:

  • Clearly and permanently identify any amendment, correction or delayed entry as such; 
  • Clearly indicate the date and author of any amendment, correction or delayed entry; 
  • Not delete but instead clearly identify all original content.

When correcting a paper medical record, the “principles are generally accomplished by using a single line strike through so that the original content is still readable. Further, the author of the alteration must sign and date the revision. Similarly, amendments or delayed entries to paper records must be clearly signed and dated upon entry into the record.”

CMS acknowledges that although “record keeping within an EHR deserves special considerations” the same principles apply. EHR corrections or delayed entries must:

  • Distinctly identify any amendment, correction or delayed entry, and;
  • Provide a reliable means to clearly identify the original content, the modified content, and the date and authorship of each modification of the record.

The manual update also states “If the MACs, CERT or Recovery Auditors identify medical documentation with potentially fraudulent entries, the reviewers shall refer the cases to the ZPIC and may consider referring to the RO and State Agency”.

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Encore-Special ODF for Hospice Providers

Did you miss the December 19th Open Door Forum that presented information about the Hospice Quality Reporting Program?

CMS announced that this ODF will have an encore recording available until midnight December 22nd

Agenda Topics included:

  • Updates about the upcoming availability of the data submission website
  • Information about how to access the data submission website and create a user account
  • Details about the data submission process
  • Question and Answer session

ENCORE CALL IN:  1-855-859-2056

CONFERENCE CODE:  81540883

 

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Therapy Questions and Answers – Revised December 2012

On December 14th CMS released revised Therapy Q&As that reflect the changes for the therapy reassessment requirement from the Final Rule 2013. The provisions in this final rule are effective for episodes ending on or after January 1, 2013, unless otherwise specified in the final rule. For episodes that begin in CY 2012 and end in CY 2013, the therapy provisions of this final rule do not apply. The therapy provisions of this final rule are applicable to episodes that begin on or after January 1, 2013.

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Hospice Quality Reporting WebEx Now Available –Posted 12/5/2012

CMS’ Hospice Quality Reporting Program (QRP) on data entry and submission WebEx training  is now available online.  Hospice providers can view the WebEx at their convenience; no registration is required. It will remain available until April 2013. The training will help hospices prepare for web-based data entry and submission of quality data affecting the FY 2014 reimbursement rates.

The Hospice QRP Data Entry and Submission WebEx addresses how to:

  • Access the Hospice Quality Reporting Program Data Entry and Submission link
  • Register your Hospice Provider and User Account
  • Navigate the Structural Measure data entry, attestation and submission
  • Navigate the NQF #0209 Pain Measure data entry, attestation and submission
  • Access Clinical and Technical Help Desk Support

To meet the hospice quality reporting requirements in order to qualify for full payment of Medicare rates in FY 2014, hospices must submit two measures: the Structural/QAPI measure and the NQF #0209 measure. Reporting of the structural measure may begin Jan. 1, 2013, and must be completed by Jan. 31, 2013, while reporting of data on the pain measure (NQF 0209) must be completed by April 1, 2013.

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CMS’ Open Door Forum-Encore recording

Did you miss CMS’ Open Door Forum (ODF) yesterday? You still have the ability to listen to the Encore recording by dialing 1-855-859-2056 and entering the Conference ID 72193272. The recording expires after 3 business days.

Agenda for ODF

I. Opening Remarks

II. Announcements & Updates

1. Open Enrollment Announcement

2. Flu Vaccination Announcement

3. Home Health PPS – Effective Date of Therapy Provisions

4. Incorrect Patient Status Codes on Hospice Claims

5. HHCAPS

6. DMEPOS Competitive Bidding

7. Update to OASIS web-based training at: http://surveyortraining.cms.hhs.gov, addition of module, OASIS C Online Training: Patient Tracking Domain

lII. Open Q&A

 **Mark your calendars**Next ODF: Wednesday, January 9, 2013**

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CMS Releases New MLN Article

On November 26th, CMS released the Medicare Learning Network  Article- (SE1237) Importance of Preparing/Maintaining Legible Medical Records. This article highlights the importance of legible documentation in avoiding claim denials. The key points highlighted:

  1. General Principles of Medical Record Documentation
  2. Medicare Signature requirements
  3. Amendments, Corrections and Delayed Entries

If you are looking for more facts on amendments, corrections and delayed entries see the Medicare Program Integrity Manual Section 3.3.2.5. The MLN article, Complying with Medicare Signature Requirements, provides a question and answer format for information on signature regulations

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