Tag: government

Advocacy Alert: Email Senators Urging Support for HCA Budget Priorities

Last week, the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means committee released its fiscal year 2019 state budget totaling $41.4 billion dollars. Senators had a deadline of Monday to file amendments to the bill, and it will be debated next week. Three Alliance priorities have been filed as amendments. Below are brief descriptions of each, with a link to send a pre-drafted email to your state legislator. The Alliance encourages you to send an email for all three amendments.

Amendment #589: EMAC Assessment Hardship Waiver:

  • This amendment would authorize the Department of Unemployment Assistance to establish a hardship waiver for employers that provide services to EOHHS/EOEA clients, or services in the public interest, who have a financial burden as a result of their EMAC tax liability. Take Action.

Amendment #560: Enough Pay to Stay Amendment:

  • This amendment would provide $28.8 million in increased funding for the State’s home care system front-line workforce. Take Action.

Amendment #620: Continuous Skilled Nursing Funding

  • This amendment would provide a $16 million increase for the Commonwealth’s Continuous Skilled Nursing program to address the workforce shortage resulting in unfilled service hours. Take Action.

HHAs Must Ensure Physician Enrollment in Medicare

 CMS Releases:  Ordering and Referring Physician Final Rule

On Tuesday, CMS posted for public inspection the final rule “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Changes in Provider and Supplier Enrollment, Ordering and Referring, and Documentation Requirements; and Changes in Provider Agreement” This document was published in the Federal Register on 04/27/2012.

This rule requires enrollment of physicians ordering home health and other services to be enrolled in the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS). Work is underway to transition all physicians enrolled in other systems, such as the Legacy system, to PECOS. This process is being expedited by CMS through physician Medicare re-validation.

Home health agencies should  begin checking every physicians Medicare enrollment status in the Ordering and Referring Physician report. Through this report CMS has made available the National Provider Identifier (NPI) and the name (last name, first name) of all physicians and non physician practitioners who are of a type/specialty that is eligible to order and refer in the Medicare program and who have current enrollment records in Medicare (i.e., they have enrollment records in PECOS that contain an NPI).
A new file will be made available periodically that will replace the posted file; at any given time, only the most recent file will be available. It can also be used to search for a particular physician or non physician practitioner by NPI number or by name.
Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

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