Home Health Line
04/26/2010

CMS released 121 new ICD-9-CM diagnoses codes that will take effect Oct. 1, and eight of those new codes could be case-mix codes that will affect home health reimbursement.

04/26/2010

Home health agencies continue to submit faulty cost reports, exposing the industry to the threat of more payment cuts, experts warn.

04/26/2010
Agencies have 60 days or until the due date of a corresponding cost report, whichever is later, to return overpayments under the health care reform law.
04/26/2010

Can home health aides be forced to waive their right to the $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage or to 150% overtime pay if the employer hiring them refuses to

04/26/2010

Congress extends 2009 physician rates again. Physicians will continue to get 2009 Medicare rates for care plan oversight and home health certification and recertification through May 31, assuming there’s no

04/19/2010
There’s a new requirement for physicians to have face-to-face visits with patients within six months preceding a home health referral, “or other reasonable time frame decided by CMS.”
04/19/2010

CMS’s two-year post-acute care demonstration indicates that a universal patient-assessment tool may reduce hospitalizations and save Medicare money.

04/19/2010

Home health agencies could experience more rigorous state surveys under new survey protocols CMS is preparing for use as soon as next month.

04/19/2010

Hospices and consultants have started to analyze how a “U-shaped” payment model might affect payments, and it doesn’t look good for hospice patients cared for in the home.

04/19/2010
Look for details about hospice-related health reform provisions in the proposed home health PPS rule, expected in August.

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