The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to the protection of patients and residents of healthcare facilities or homecare settings from the spread of infectious disease. This memorandum responds to questions we [CMS] have received and provides important guidance for Hospice Agencies in addressing the COVID-19 outbreak and minimizing transmission to other individuals.
Read MoreThe Trump Administration is issuing an unprecedented array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to equip the American healthcare system with maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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We at HealthCare Strategies are working diligently to stay up to date with the latest direction from the CDC and CMS regarding the novel COVID-19 virus. As a result, we are keeping our software platform, HCS Connect™, featuring ConnectOffice™ and ConnectMobile™, up to date with functionality that assists agencies during this time.
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From the Alabama Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Read MoreOn March 22, CMS announced it is granting exceptions from reporting requirements and extensions for clinicians and providers participating in Medicare quality reporting programs with respect to upcoming measure reporting and data submission for those programs.
Read MoreTennCare & MCOs OK Telehealth (virtual & telephonic visits); Legislative Session Postponed
Read MoreA message from Paul Wurm, CEO of HealthCare Strategies
Read MoreThe U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued an 1135 waiver to relax certain rules and conditions of participation (CoPs) for hospices and other health care providers after the White House declared a national emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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CMS is committed to protecting American patients and residents by ensuring health care facilities have up-to-date information to adequately respond to COVID-19 concerns.
Read MoreCMS announces an upcoming outage to the Medicare HETS 270/271 eligibility system.
Read MoreThis Q&A supersedes October 2019 CMS Quarterly Q&A #6. CMS has provided clarification around discharges by modifying, significantly, the OASIS FAQ that was causing confusion.
Read MoreThis document is intended to provide guidance on OASIS questions that were received by CMS help desks. Responses contained in this document may be time-limited and may be superseded by guidance published by CMS at a later date.
Read MoreCMS rule regarding the 5-day window at the end of 2019
Read MoreThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued a final rule that empowers patients to make informed decisions about their care as they are discharged from acute care into post-acute care (PAC), a process called “discharge planning.”
Read MoreHot off the presses! Follow the link to review the document posted by CMS that describes the final ruling on PDGM.
Read MoreStarting January 1, 2020, you must use Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs) when billing Medicare regardless of the date of service.
Read MorePlease note that guidance Q&As related to PDGM will become effective with assessments with a M0090 date of January 1, 2020 or later.
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On April 1, 2017, CMS paused the Pre-Claim Review Demonstration for Home Health Services to consider a number of changes in response to stakeholder feedback. On May 29, 2018, CMS first announced our intention to implement the Review Choice Demonstration for Home Health Services through a PRA notice and sought initial public comments. On September 27, 2018, CMS published responses to initial comments and a subsequent PRA notice, and provided the public another opportunity to comment on CMS’ efforts to collect information on the revised demonstration. The second public comment period ended October 29, 2018. The published responses and additional information on the demonstration design are available here.
Read MorePHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS (PA) will be allowed to act as the attending physician for patients in hospice care. Currently a patient can only elect a nurse practitioner (NP), or a doctor of medicine (MD) or osteopathy (DO) as their attending physician. This amendment to the law provides an increase in continuity of care to those individuals who utilized a PA prior to electing hospice care.
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