Husch Blackwell’s Hospice Team Secures Elimination of 2% Payment Reduction Penalty

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (October 1, 2021)—Husch Blackwell’s Hospice & Palliative Care team successfully represented hospices who were facing a 2% payment reduction penalty for Fiscal Year 2022 based on alleged noncompliance with Hospice Quality Program Reporting Program (HQRP) requirements. Hospices across the country received notices in mid-July from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) alleging noncompliance with those requirements and stating that, as a result, the hospices would have their Annual Payment Update reduced by 2% beginning in October 2021. Such a reduction would result in millions in lost revenue the hospices.