Home Health & Hospice Week

Also: Your chances of screening scrutiny increase this month. Starting March 25, you'll have to pay a pretty penny to enroll or reenroll in Medicare -- $505. "CMS and its contractors will not be able to process any applications without the proper application fee having been paid and credited to the United States Treasury," CMS says in an e-mail to providers. "If the fee is not submitted, the application will be rejected or billing privileges revoked." As required in the Affordable Care Act, CMS will charge the enrollment/revalidation fee to non-physician providers, including home health agencies, hospices, and durable medical equipment suppliers. Exception: If you truly can't afford the fee, CMS may give you a break. Contractors "will accept hardship exception requests from institutional providers," the agency says. "However, determinations on whether to grant these requests will be made on a case-by-case basis." If CMS turns down a hardship request, the [...]