Hospice
The Alliance Supports Legislation to Fix Hospice Special Focus Program
(Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC) – The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) has endorsed H.R. 10097, the Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act, introduced in the House of Representatives. The Alliance supports delaying the implementation of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service’s (CMS) hospice Special Focus Program (SFP), to allow for additional time to correct its […]
Read MoreHospice Policy Alert: Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act
Today, representatives Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act, which would delay implementation of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). This delay would create time to correct its current flawed design that creates a high risk of failing […]
Read MoreThe Alliance Celebrates National Care at Home Month
(Washington, DC) – November marks the start of National Care at Home Month, a new observance created to honor the valuable contributions of home care providers nationwide and inspire outreach to communities, media, and policymakers. National Care at Home Month is spearheaded by the newly formed National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), bringing […]
Read MoreNavigating the Hospice Special Focus Program: Preparing for Survey Deficiencies and Substantiated Complaints
As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prepares to launch the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP), now is the time to focus on key indicators that could place a hospice in the bottom ten percent of hospices nationwide. The SFP targets hospices in the bottom 10 percent based on hospice survey, Hospice Care […]
Read MoreNew Member Resource: Navigating the Hospice Special Focus Program
Prepare your hospice for potential inclusion in the Special Focus Program (SFP) with essential member-only resources available on the Alliance’s website. Although the list of identified providers has not been finalized, this resource page offers valuable guidance, tools, and support to help you manage concerns from patients, families, staff, and your community. Resources include a […]
Read MoreCMS Releases Hospice Special Focus Program Overview Update
On October 4, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released QSO-25-02-Hospice, a memo providing an update on an overview of the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). This memo outlines the implementation of the SFP, which was finalized in the Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) final rule […]
Read MoreCMS Releases Additional HOPE Resources
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released additional resources for the hospice HOPE (Hospice Outcome & Patient Evaluation) tool. This includes: NAHC staff are reviewing the materials and will provide a summary and resources for the HOPE in the near future.
Read MoreHospice Certifying Physician Claims Edit Update
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated the Hospice Certifying Enrollment Questions and Answers (Q & A) Document and Change Request (CR) 13531, both dealing with the hospice certifying physician enrollment requirement. This requirement, established via the FY2024 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update final rule, conditions Medicare payment of hospice […]
Read MoreHospice Prepayment Medical Review Fact Sheet
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is conducting prepayment medical review for hospices in the states of Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. (See previous NAHC Report coverage.) The announcement CMS made in an MLNConnects newsletter about the initiative was extremely brief and left hospices with more questions than answers. The Alliance reached out […]
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