Home Health's 2014 Final Rule

When CMS released the proposed rule earlier this year, there were several provisions included but those most note-worthy for home health are : A reduction in the national, standardized 60-day episode rate of 1.5% ($290 million) for 2014 and a reduction of the episode rate by 3.5% annually 2014 through 2017. An increase in each of the per-visit rates for LUPA’s by 3.5% annually 2014 through 2017 We’re expecting the removal of 2 ICD-9 coding categories from the HH PPS Grouper. The first one includes diagnoses codes for severely acute patients that should not be used in home health and the second category for diagnosis codes for conditions that would not impact the HH POC and shouldn’t be used anyway. Additionally we’re expecting the addition of 2 claims-based quality measures: “Rehospitalization During the First 30 days of a Home Health Stay” and “Emergency Department Use Without Hospitalization Readmission During the First 30 Days of Home Health Stay”. View more on the subject with our detailed handouts, courtesy of Jennifer Warfield with PPS Plus.