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Author: Alora Home Health Software

The moment PDGM (The Patient-Driven Groupings Model) takes effect in the year 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) looks to see their new edict change the landscape of home health care operations, specifically with regard to double billing. With PDGM representing the largest wholesale revamp in many years, agencies and providers will need to dedicate significant attention to using this year to ensure proper preparation. With the number of changes in store, inevitably some agencies will contest specific aspects of PDGM’s new requirements.

January 2020 OASIS-D Changes

 

OASIS-D to OASIS-D1 Information

OASIS-D is the current version of the OASIS data set. It was implemented on January 1, 2019. OASIS-D introduces new standardized items to support measurement domains mandated by the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014. New items were also added for standardization to align with assessment sets for other post-acute care settings. Several items were also removed to reduce provider and patient burden. OASIS-D was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on December 6, 2018, with an intended expiration date of 12/31/2021.

Illinois Review Choice Demonstration to Begin on June 1

The Center for Medicare Services (CMS) recently released information about the next steps for its Review Choice Demonstration (RCD). Illinois will be the first state to participate with the newest version of this demonstration, beginning  June 1, 2019. The Five (5) state claims review demonstration also includes Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, and Texas.

New EVV Survey Raises Concerns Among Homecare Providers & Industry Officials

As the movement towards mandatory EVV on the federal level continues to march forward, officials at CMS have been steadily preparing for the possible rollout of a national electronic visit verification (EVV) survey. This survey would be a non-optional requirement for agencies providing many types of care, and is intended to strengthen agency accountability, patient care, and reduce the rampant fraud that recent reports have suggested is still on the rise in numerous states.

SPOTLIGHT ON OHIO & THE ODM EVV MANDATE

 

Electronic Visit Verification, also known as EVV, is quickly becoming a federally-mandated requirement which all state Medicaid programs must implement in order to verify that home health, homecare and/or personal care services are delivered to their intended patients. Electronic visit verification is mandated under the 21st Century Cures Act, which was effectively signed into law in 2016 with the intent of decreasing the rampant levels of reported fraud within Medicaid claims filings.

The new EVV mandates require that each state must have a state-wide and properly approved Electronic Visit Verification system fully operational by an implementation deadline of January 1st 2019 for all Medicaid-funded home health agencies providing services, and by the first of January, 2021, for all Medicaid-funded personal care services.

Alora & Sandata Announce Partnership to Offer Homecare Agencies Electronic Visit Verification (EVV)

 

EVV Mandates on the Rise Nationwide

 

EVV systemsSandata Technologies, one of the nation's leading providers of home care solutions designed to simplify the process of managing services for government agencies, Managed Care Organizations, and other home care providers, issued a national press release showcasing the recent team up with Alora to address the need for effective electronic visit verification solutions. While Alora Home Health Software has specialized in simple to use solutions for the home care industry since 2005, their development over the last few years of powerful tools for homecare agencies to verifiy visits including integrated EVV,

Telephony, & AideConnect, places the company at the forefront of providers who focus on compliance paired with homecare technology.

As stated in the press release, their integration with Alora allows agencies using the Alora Home Health Software to maximize the benefits of Sandata's state-sponsored EVV solution, while ensuring compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act EVV mandate. 

Read the full press release below.

National Shortage of Home Care Workers Drives Agencies to Recruit Retired, Aged Workers 

Agencies & organizations providing home health and home care in the U.S have felt the brunt of a growing shortage of able and qualified workers at an increasing pace over the last few years. With competition from other more lucrative industries siphoning off younger freshly educated potential workers, Home Health agencies have been turning to a seemingly unlikely source, in retired workers. While many of these workers may carry higher associated costs such as healthcare of their own, the level of skill, patient care, and professionalism has driven many home health care organizations to increase recruitment from this pool of the former fulltime workforce.