PEPPERs Available for Hospices, SNFs, IRFs, IPFs, CAHs, LTCHs

Fourth quarter FY 2017 Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPERs) are available for hospices, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPFs), Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and Long-term Acute Care Hospitals (LTCHs). These reports summarize provider-specific data statistics for Medicare services that may be at risk for improper payments. Use your data to support internal auditing and monitoring activities.

Are SNFs turning away those with opioid addiction? And is that legal?

A new article in STAT explores whether long-term care facilities can legally turn away those seeking post-acute care who are taking medicine to treat opioid addiction. According to STAT, many nursing facilities routinely — and sometimes systematically and by policy — do not take in otherwise eligible residents for care if they are on medicines for opioid addition, such as methadone or buprenorphine.

IMPACT Act Transfer of Health measures: Public comment period ends May 3

CMS is developing cross-setting post-acute care quality measures on the transfer of health information and care preferences in alignment with the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act).

CMS posts the third annual release of its home health, hospice Public Use File

CMS this month announced it has posted the latest Home Health Agency Public Use File (PUF), with data from 2015.

Ambulances out, share riding and alternative services in?

While it’s concerning that some people are apparently calling ride-share services like Uber when they need to get to the hospital in an emergency, others are wondering if ride-sharing or alternative services have their place in non-emergency medical transport.