Volume 21.13 We are very excited to be sponsoring our Hospice Financial Management Academy live again. The 2021 program will be held at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on September 13-14, 2021. The response to this program has been tremendous. Based on...
Volume 21.12 CMS has issued the final rule, “Medicare Program; FY 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, Hospice Conditions of Participation Updates, Hospice and Home Health Quality Reporting Program Requirements”. This final rule: Updates the hospice wage...
Volume 21.11 Hospices continue to lead the healthcare sector in investor interest and valuation even during the COVID-19 PHE. The price of hospices continues to rise due to the continually increasing demand and return opportunities expected for the next few years....
Volume 21.10 The early response to our Hospice Financial Management Academy, scheduled for September 13-14, 2021, has been overwhelming. We have ten (10) remaining spots available for the program (we limit attendance to maximize the benefit of the program). Early...
Volume 21.09 Recently, we have identified another hospice that has overpaid its CAP liability. This happens when a hospice has claims denied and is also subject to CAP overpayments. When a claim is retroactively denied for a completed CAP Year, the denied claims...
Volume 21.08 On June 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) revised the reporting requirements for Provider Relief Funds (“PRF”). Key updates include: The period of availability of funds is based on the date the payment is received (rather...
Volume 21.07 The Advance Conference Program and registration information for our upcoming Hospice Financial Management Academy is now available. The program will be held at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on September 13-14, 2021. Early registration discounts...
As part of the FY 2022 Hospice Payment Rate Update CMS is proposing to modify the labor component for each of the daily reimbursement rates. The labor component is the basis for adjusting payment rates based on the location where the hospice services are furnished....
Volume 21.05 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has issued the Proposed Rule, Medicare Program; FY 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, Hospice Conditions of Participation Updates, Hospice and Home Health Quality Reporting Program...
Volume 21.04 This week Ryan Lindsay, CPA, Director at The Health Group, LLC, spoke at the Annual Meeting of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (“NHPCO”). His presentation, “Amazon Will Change How Hospices Do Business”, was reported on by Hospice...
Volume 21.03 The Medicare Payment and Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”) recently recommended that “For fiscal year 2022, the Congress should eliminate the update to the 2021 Medicare base payment rates for hospice and wage adjust and reduce the hospice aggregate cap by...
Volume 21.02 After preparing substantial numbers of self-determined CAP Report filings for the 2020 CAP Year and CAP liability assessment reports for hospices across the country, it is increasingly obvious to us that greater numbers of hospices are exceeding hospice...
Volume 21.01 We continually receive questions regarding Medicare enrollment revalidations. CMS has temporarily ceased revalidation efforts for all Medicare providers or suppliers. During the public health emergency, CMS will not issue any new revalidation notices,...
Volume 20.16 At the recent meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”), the matter of wage adjusting the Medicare Aggregate Payment Limitation (“CAP”) and reducing the CAP by an arbitrary 20% was again discussed as MedPAC moves toward making its...
Volume 20.15 On September 14, 2020, CMS released Medicaid payment rates for FY 2021 (beginning October 1, 2020). The Medicaid hospice payment rates are calculated based on the annual hospice rates established under Medicare. These rates are authorized by section...
Volume 20.14 On July 31, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the final FY2021 hospice payment rule (“Rule”). The national hospice payment rates, subject to geographical application, and the hospice CAP will increase by 2.4%...
Volume 20.13 The Hospice Cost & Data Report (“Cost Report”) was substantially modified in 2014 to facilitate the accumulation of hospice costs by level of care (“LOC”), as well as capture other information, which can be used in establishing Medicare reimbursement...
Volume 20.11 In support of the Provider Relief Funding received by hospices, COVID-19 PHE incremental expenses incurred are now required reporting on a quarterly basis. These expenses, as well as lost revenues, will be reported as a use of the Provider Relief...
Volume 20.10 The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (“NHPCO”) is offering a webinar intended to address the legal, accounting, and financial reporting aspects of the PPP SBA Guaranteed Loan Program and the Provider Relief Funding, as well as the...
Volume 20.09 To better address the needs of patients during the COVID-19 PHE, hospices can provide telehealth services to patients receiving routine home care if feasible and appropriate. Additionally, face-to-face encounters can now be conducted by telehealth....
Volume 20.08 The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has released the proposed 2021 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, which is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on April 15, 2020. This proposed rule would update the...