Eli's Hospice Insider
CMS Reprioritizes Surveys
PDF
Back in March, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced that regular Medicare surveys would go by the wayside. Now you have an idea of what’s taking their place. In a March 23 release, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said surveyors would not conduct standard inspections of providers including hospices. Surveyors still would conduct complaint inspections related to Immediate Jeopardy concerns and targeted infection control inspections, CMS continued. Now in a June 1 survey memo, CMS says it is “providing guidance for the limited resumption of routine survey activities” and “enhancing the penalties for non-compliance with infection control to provide greater accountability and consequence.” While the survey memo talks in detail about nursing home surveys, “the memo addresses all provider types,” the National Association for Home Care & Hospice stresses. In transitioning “to more routine oversight and survey activities, once a state has entered Phase 3” of reopening, they “are authorized to expand beyond the current survey prioritization (Immediate Jeopardy, Focused Infection Control, and Initial Certification surveys) to perform (for all provider and supplier types): Complaint investigations that are triaged as Non-Immediate Jeopardy-High; Revisit surveys of any facility with removed Immediate Jeopardy (but still out of compliance); [and] Special Focus Facility and Special Focus Facility Candidate recertification surveys” (emphasis added). “When determining the order in which to schedule more routine surveys, States should prioritize providers based on those with a history of noncompliance, or allegations of noncompliance, with the below items: Abuse or neglect; Infection control; Violations of transfer or discharge requirements; Insufficient staffing or competency; or Other quality of care issues (e.g., falls, pressure ulcers, etc.),” the memo continues. “Accrediting organizations may resume normal survey activities based on state reopening criteria,” the memo continues. The six-page memo is at www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-31-all.pdf.
Eli's Hospice Insider
- Access:
You Can't Bill If You Can't Furnish Visits, CMS Says
Do telehealth visits count? Maybe. If assisted living, nursing home, and other facilities won’t let [...] - Testing:
Don't Shoot Yourself In The Foot With Testing Battle Of Wills
It’s up to facilities who they bar. If you throw down over whether your hospice [...] - Regulations:
Can New Medicare Burden Reduction Office Live Up To Its Name?
Hospices need reduced regulatory burdens. Medicare is saying all the right words when it comes [...] - Compliance:
New Rule Moves Some Nondiscrimination Duties Off Hospices' Plates
Say goodbye to notices and taglines. The mainstream press may have taken note of how [...] - COVID-19:
Hospice Captures 5% Of COVID-19 Discharges
After death, most discharges are to home. New Medicare beneficiary data may help you fill [...] - Hospice News:
Medicare Extends Medicare Care Choices Model Demo
December 2021 is the new end date. Medicare’s concurrent care demonstration project will live another [...] - Hospice News:
HOPE Tool Alpha Testing Still On Schedule For Fall
COVID-19 isn’t derailing the development of Medicare’s Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation assessment tool. The [...] - Hospice News:
Providers Get Extra Time To File Cost Reports
Medicare has postponed cost report deadlines once again. The same: The deadline for cost report [...] - Hospice News:
CMS Reprioritizes Surveys
Back in March, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced that regular Medicare surveys would go by [...] - Hospice News:
Dig Deeper If You Were Denied Accelerated Payments
If you can’t figure out why you haven’t been able to access Medicare accelerated payments [...] - Hospice News:
Here's When The VBID Model Applies
Effective dates for the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in are clearer after an update from the [...] - Hospice News:
California Sales Rep Sues Hospice Chain Employer
Coronavirus-related lawsuits from employees are underway. For example: A San Mateo, California employee is suing [...] - Hospice News:
Hospice Video Could Increase Benefit Access, Study Says
Physicians’ discomfort with talking about end-of-life issues has blocked hospice access, but there may be [...]