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Home Health Care News

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RCD Moves Forward in Texas and North Carolina

In the latest news for RCD, the choice selection period for Home Health Agencies (HHAs) located in Texas officially began on Jan 15th 2020, and will end on Feb 13th, 2020. HHAs can visit Palmetto GBA’s provider portal here for additional information and details on selection process. The portal guides HHAs through viewing their available choices and making selections. Any HHAs that do not make a choice selection by the February 13, 2020 deadline will be automatically placed in Choice 2: Post payment Review. After the conclusion of the choice selection period, the demonstration will begin in Texas on March 2, 2020, and all episodes of care starting on or after that date will be subject to requirements of the choice selected.

Medicare Advantage Plans for 2020

 

CMS Signals New Home Care Benefits Coming in 2020 with MA Plans

 

 (MA) plans (Medicare Advantage plans) are poised to release a new set of benefits for home care in 2020. Home care premiums are anticipated to experience a significant drop by more than 22%, this the announcement from the current federal government.

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 RCD Implementation Update

In the latest homecare news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will delay the implementation of Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) so agencies have adequate time to adapt to the upcoming Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) prior to implementation of RCD. In one state however, CMS is not delaying implementation.

We’re well into 2019, and it seems PDGM (Patient-Driven Groupings Model) is among the most discussed healthcare topics at the moment. From industry trade publications to speakers at national conferences, everyone is talking about how PDGM will affect home health agencies in 2020. The information can be insightful, but it can also be overwhelming. Here is a key-point summary that will help your home health agency prepare for 2020, both financially and operationally.

CMS DELAYS RCD UNTIL MARCH 2020

 

Advocates for home health care have achieved a significant triumph regarding the ongoing struggle against implementation of RCD (Review Choice Demonstration).

After a series of sessions reviewing the matter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an official statement this past Monday that the RCD will be delayed until March 2, 2020. Originally, implementation of the demonstration was slated to start in Texas on December second of 2019. This would have resulted in home health care providers in the Lone Star state being forced to simultaneously navigate RCD while also dealing with the equally intimidating PDGM (Patient-Driven Groupings Model).

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.