Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment Open Door Forum - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment Open Door Forum - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/ODF_hhhdme.html

NQF #0209 Deadline for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program is Monday, April 1, 2013

Deadline quickly approaching to avoid 2 percentage point reduction to APU for FY 2014

Hospice providers must enter and attest to their NQF #0209 data on the data entry website no later than 11:59pm ET on April 1, 2013 in order to comply with Payment Year 2014 NQF #0209 requirements. Providers that have not already begun entering their NQF #0209 data for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Payment Year 2014 cycle should begin doing so immediately. In order to avoid a 2 percentage point reduction in Annual Payment Update (APU) for FY 2014, providers must have submitted data for both the structural measure and the NQF #0209 measure by the specified deadlines: January 31, 2013 for the structural measure and April 1, 2013 for the NQF #0209 measure. Providers that may have missed the structural measure deadline can still visit the data entry website, create an account, and enter their NQF #0209 data. The link to the data entry site, along with a Technical User Guide giving step-by-step instructions on the data entry process, can be found on the Data Submission portion of the CMS HQRP website.

It is highly recommend that hospice providers confirm attestation and submission of their NQF #0209 data, as compliance with NQF #0209 reporting requirements for FY 2014 is based on the attestation and submission step. Providers are encouraged to print for their records the “NQF #0209 Pain Measure Submitted” page that displays immediately following submission of data. This page confirms the successful submission of data to CMS. Providers may also verify attestation and submission of their NQF #0209 data by logging into the data entry website and viewing the “Measure Data Entry Links and Submission Status” page. If you have submitted and attested to your NQF #0209 data, the NQF #0209 Pain Measure Submission Status will show: "Data Attested and Submitted," along with the date and time-stamp of attestation. Providers may wish to print or save a copy of the “Measure Data Entry Links and Submission Status Page” for their records.
 

Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment Open Door Forum

Overview:
The Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment Open Door Forum (ODF) addresses the concerns of three unique health care areas within the Medicare & Medicaid programs. Issues related to Home Health PPS, the newly proposed competitive bidding for DME and the Medicare Hospice benefit are all topics the forum has covered. Many of the issues covered bridge concerns within all three settings and the combination of the topics under one Forum has been useful to many participants. We continue to hold Special ODFs when individual policy issues require special attention. Timely announcements and clarifications regarding important rulemaking, agency program initiatives and other related areas are also included in the forums.
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Hospice providers must enter and attest to their NQF #0209 data on the data entry website no later than 11:59pm ET on April 1, 2013 in order to comply with Payment Year 2014 NQF #0209 requirements. Providers that have not already begun entering their NQF #0209 data for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Payment Year 2014 cycle should begin doing so immediately. In order to avoid a 2 percentage point reduction in Annual Payment Update (APU) for FY 2014, providers must have submitted data for both the structural measure and the NQF #0209 measure by the specified deadlines: January 31, 2013 for the structural measure and April 1, 2013 for the NQF #0209 measure. Providers that may have missed the structural measure deadline can still visit the data entry website, create an account, and enter their NQF #0209 data. The link to the data entry site, along with a Technical User Guide giving step-by-step instructions on the data entry process, can be found on the Data Submission portion of the CMS HQRP website.

National Provider Calls: Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Process — Registration Now Open
Tuesday, April 9; 2:30-4pm ET— Preparing to Apply
Tuesday, April 23; 1:30-3pm ET— Tips on Completing a Successful Application. See Downloads section below for full announcement.

Important Alert: Hospice providers that have not already begun entering their NQF #0209 data for the Payment Year 2014 cycle should begin doing so immediately. Providers must enter and attest to their data on the data entry website no later than 11:59pm ET on April 1, 2013 in order to comply with NQF #0209 requirements. In order to avoid a 2 percentage point reduction in Annual Payment Update (APU) for FY 2014, providers must have submitted data for both the structural measure and the NQF #0209 measure by the specified deadlines: January 31, 2013 for the structural measure and April 1, 2013 for the NQF #0209 measure.
Providers that may have missed the structural measure deadline can still visit the data entry website, create an account, and enter their NQF #0209 data. The link to the data entry site, along with a Technical User Guide giving step-by-step instructions on the data entry process, can be found on the Data Submission portion of the CMS HQRP website.
Hospice providers that anticipate needing a deactivation request for their HQRP user account should submit their account deactivation request to the Technical Help Desk via fax at 888-477-7871 or email at help@QTSO.com prior to March 25, 2013. Any deactivation requests received on or after March 25 puts a hospice organization at risk for missing the April 1 NQF #0209 deadline. Please note: all data submitted by a user who is deactivated is permanently deleted. Please see Downloads section below for more information.

On the February 20th Home Health, Hospice and DME ODF, CMS staff responded to a question regarding the Home Health Acute Care Hospitalization claims-based measure. The caller asked if the measure is risk adjusted and if not, was CMS considering risk adjustment in the future. CMS staff responded erroneously that the measure is not risk adjusted and there are no plans to risk adjust in the future. The correct response is that the Acute Care Hospitalization claims-based measure is already risk adjusted.

The next Home Health, Hospice & Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Open Door Forum is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20, 2013 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm, ET. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 78869441. Please see the Downloads section below for the full announcement including agenda. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.

The Durable Medical Equipment, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program will be changing how some Medicare patients get covered supplies. Be sure to give your Medicare patients the correct information. Please review (copy and paste the link into your web browser) the following link for information for people who refer Medicare beneficiaries for DMEPOS: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/index.html?redirect=/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/01_overview.asp .

Urgent Hospice Quality Reporting Registration Information has been added to the Downloads section below. Thank you.

Please see the "New Electronic Mailing List to Keep Fee-For-Service Providers Informed" announcement in the Downloads section below.

Downloads

• April 9 & 23, 2013 - National Provider Call - Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Process [PDF, 265KB]
• Hospice Quality Reporting Program: NQF #0209 April 1, 2013 Deadline [PDF, 266KB]
• Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - Announcement & Agenda - Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum [PDF, 69KB]
• January 9, 2013 - Hospice Quality Reporting Registration Information [PDF, 85KB]
• New Electronic Mailing List to Keep Medicare Fee-For-Service Providers Informed [PDF, 263KB]
• A/B MAC Jurisdictions Map [PDF, 32KB]

Related Links

• Carrier/FI Directory (PDF, 338KB) - Opens in a new window
• Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum Mailing List Sign-Up - Opens in a new window
• Medicare Supplier Directory - Opens in a new window
• Home Health Compare - Opens in a new window
• Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Product Ordering Page - Opens in a new window
• Government Printing Office Federal Register - Opens in a new window
• Home Health Agency (HHA) Center
• Hospice Center
• Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Center
• DMEPOS Competitive Bidding
• Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics/Orthotics & Supplies Fee Schedule
• Survey & Certification - General Information
• HCPCS - General Information
• Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS)

• Page last Modified: 03/27/2013 10:49 AM