Proposed Home Health PPS rule calls for $400-million payment increase, details new payment model

Adjustments to Medicare’s home health payments under the 2019 proposed PPS rule would increase agencies’ total reimbursement by an estimated 2.1%, or $400 million. By comparison, the 2018 PPS final rule included a 0.4%, or $80 million, payment reduction.

MA patients had shorter course of rehab, better discharge an outcomes

A recent study compared Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, both with hip fractures, to determine if payment structured changed the nature, timing, and outcomes of care.

Interoperability and post-acute implications

CMS stance/policy on interoperability among providers and the resultant debate are rather interesting. I encourage clients and readers to tune-in on this subject as the positive and negative implications are sweeping.

CMS discusses its plan to modify home health star ratings

During a June 27 MLN call, CMS presented its rationale for seeking to remove one measure from home health star ratings in quality of care and seeking to add another measure instead.

Long-Term Care: Achieve better compliance through service contract review

Readers, I just finished our tech run for our next webinar on contract reviews and it’s going to be a great program! This webinar will help skilled nursing facilities take a look at their current vendor contracts and better negotiate future contract for better negotiation, compliance, and lower risk! And who better to help you with than an attorney who focuses on regulatory and compliance issues in the post-acute arena, Todd J. Selby.

As it turns out, your service contracts could create liability and compliance issues if you’re not paying attention. Ensure you know the federal Requirements of Participation – including specific regulations that should be addressed in your contracts. Here’s the full agenda.