CMS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

ATLANTA (July 17, 2017)—Brightree, a provider of cloud-based patient management software for post-acute care companies, announced the release of OASIS (Outcome and Assessment Information Set) review to its billing and coding suite of services for home health and hospice agencies.

2017 National Health Care Fraud Takedown
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, along with state and federal law enforcement partners, participated in the largest health care fraud takedown in history in July 2017. (Office of Inspector General)

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 13, 2017)—The latest HME Audit Key survey results, running through the first quarter of 2017, show continued appeal determinations in favor of suppliers in several product categories, including overturn rates of 68 percent for respiratory products, 77 percent for ostomy, urological, wound care, and diabetic supplies, and 81 percent for NPWT devices and supplies. Other highlights from this round include:

—Via CMS, WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2017)—CMS launched a new Quality Payment Program (QPP) webpage dedicated to doctors and other clinicians working in small or rural practices as well as those treating patients in underserved areas. This page provides:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2017)—TRICARE is issuing its first official acknowledgements that they will reprocess claims from July 1 through December 31, 2016 to reflect adjustments to the fee schedule mandated by last December’s CURES bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2017)—CMS released proposed 2018 changes to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System and related kidney/renal disease regulations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that accessories for Group 3 power Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) mobility products will continue to remain exempt from the application of competitive bidding derived pricing for Medicare beneficiaries.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 21, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would make changes in the second year of the Quality Payment Program as required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). CMS’s goal is to simplify the program, especially for small, independent and rural practices, while ensuring fiscal sustainability and high-quality care within Medicare.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (June 20, 2017)—Evans Incorporated, a provider of human-centered organizational, process, technology and operational consulting solutions focused on fail-safe solutions in health care and aviation announces today that it is hosting an Emergency Preparedness Webinar on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 from 12–1 PM ET to discuss the procedural and regulatory challenges related to health care emergency preparedness.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 14, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary (OACT) released state-level health care spending data for the period 1991-2014.

Face to Face Legislation/Physician Certification Introduced in Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2017)—Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) released the 2018 CHAP Standards of Excellence v.1 that will equip home health providers with the tools they need to meet changing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements, which are proposed to go into effect on January 13, 2018.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 5, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed revisions to arbitration agreement requirements for long-term care facilities. These proposed revisions would help strengthen transparency in the arbitration process, reduce unnecessary provider burden and support residents’ rights to make informed decisions about important aspects of their health care.

WATERLOO, Iowa (June 1, 2017)—VGM’s annual Heartland Conference will be the site of a panel discussion with officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

MCKINNEY, Texas (May 23, 2017)—Soleo Health, a national provider of specialty home and alternate-site infusion services, announced it is aggressively advocating for thousands of home infusion therapy patients that stand to be affected by the recently enacted 21st Century Cures Act.

Washington D.C. (May 17, 2017)—A letter authored by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is calling for reforms to policies and regulations involving durable medical equipment and complex rehab technology. The letter is to be sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2017)—On Monday, CGS, the DME MAC Jurisdiction C and B contractor announced that they are prepared to begin reprocessing claims that are subject to the CURES-mandated fee schedule adjustment. The mass adjustments will be conducted in batches. They will be processing claims five days a week and it is expected to take 24 weeks to complete. Jurisdiction C has approximately 4.7 million claims and is planning to reprocess 40,000 claims per day.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2017)—AAHomecare continues to press the case for longer-term relief for rural and non-bid area providers, as well as for significant structural improvements to the Competitive Bidding Program with Federal regulators.

—Via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 2, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated the fee schedule for rural and non-bid areas to adjust reimbursements to rural providers for products and services furnished between the July 1–December 31 period.