injury tracking

New Requirements for OSHA Illness and Injury Log

Home Health agencies with less than 250 employees are not included on the list of industries/employers that requires submission of the OSHA form.

However, regardless of the industry, for employers with 250 or more employees, Form 300A must be submitted electronically once a year.

Read more here:

Final Rule to Improve Tracking
Injury Tracking Application
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home care

Medicare Payment Systems Reminder

Medicare patients who elect hospice must meet these requirements:

  • Be eligible for Part A
  • Be certified as terminally ill with medical prognosis of 6 months or less to live if the illness runs its normal course
  • Use a Medicare-approved hospice program
  • Sign a hospice election statement
  • Waive all coverage rights for terminal illness and related
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compliance regulations

Medicare Provider Compliance Tips – Home Health Services

Medicare has updated the improper payment rate and denial reasons for the 2022 reporting period.

For the 2022 reporting period, insufficient documentation accounted for 34.9% of improper payments for home health services, while no documentation (4.0%), medical necessity (42.3%), incorrect coding (3.0%), and “other” errors (15.8%) caused other improper payments. The primary reason for these … Read More >>>

home infusion

A New Opportunity to Expand into Home Infusion Therapy

When was the last time you looked at HIT accreditation?

In January, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added the home infusion therapy benefit to the Medicare Part B lineup of treatments. But since the use of the Home Infusion Therapy (HIT) service has remained low, the National Home Infusion Association pushing … Read More >>>

caregiver with smiling man

Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting

Did you see the proposed rule the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued in early September for Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting?

The proposed rule “seeks to establish comprehensive nurse staffing requirements to hold nursing homes accountable for providing safe and high-quality care for … Read More >>>

21st Century Cures Act header

Visit Verification Brings Benefits Beyond Compliance

The 21st Century Cures Act is a United States law enacted by the 114th United States Congress in December 2016. The Act “is designed to help accelerate medical product development and bring new innovations and advances to patients who need them faster and more efficiently” and it “builds on FDA’s ongoing work to incorporate the … Read More >>>

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CMS Allows Extension of Some PHE HCBS Flexibilities

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released updated guidance to extend COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) flexibilities approved in the states’ section 1915(c) home- and community-based services (HCBS) waiver Appendix K amendments.

These flexibilities were originally set to expire six months after the expiration of the PHE. But CMS has determined that … Read More >>>

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CMS Guidance on Unannounced Surveys

On June 19, 2023, CMS sent out updated guidance to Accreditation Organizations (AOs) regarding unannounced surveys, blackout dates, and the complaint process. If not already in place, these changes to the AOs processes must be implemented by July 14, 2023:

“In accordance with both §488.5(a)(4)(i), which requires unannounced surveys, as well as our long-standing instructions in Chapter 2 … Read More >>>

network

Electronic Visit Verification: What Personal Care Services and Home Health Care Services Providers Need to Know

Back in April 2022, the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued an OIG Work Plan update stating that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will undertake an audit into how states implement their electronic visit verification (EVV) systems for Medicaid personal care services (PCS) and home health care services (HHCS).

The … Read More >>>

hearing

Can you hear me now? Audiologists and new rules for diagnostic testing

Did you hear the recent “noise” about hearing care coverage?

On June 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released an updated transmittal entitled “Allowing Audiologists to Furnish Certain Diagnostic Tests Without a Physician Order.” This change, effective July 1, 2023, will allow beneficiaries, once every 12 months, to receive care for … Read More >>>