February 1, 2010, Home Health & Hospice Medicare A ... - CGS

If you have questions regarding this issue, refer to the “Contact Us” page of our Web site and select“Telephone Us” to call the Provider Contact Center.DisclaimerThis article was prepared as a service to the public and is not intended to grant rights or impose obligations. This article maycontain references or links to statutes, regulations, or other policy materials. The information provided is only intended to be ageneral summary. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. We encourage readers to review thespecific statutes, regulations and other interpretive materials for a full and accurate statement of their contents.Additional Data Collection on Hospice Claims—RevisedThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a revision to the Medicare LearningNetwork (MLN) Matters article, “Additional Data Collection on Hospice Claims,” which was published inthe June 1, 2009, Home Health & Hospice Medicare A Newsline. This MLN Matters article and other CMSarticles can be found on the CMS Web site at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticlesMLN Matters ® Number: MM6440 Revised Related Change Request (CR) #: 6440Related CR Release Date: May 15, 2009Effective Date: October 1, 2009, for optionalreporting by hospices and January 1, 2010, formandatory reporting by hospicesRelated CR Transmittal #: R1738CP Implementation Date: October 5, 2009Note: This article was revised on January 6, 2010, to clarify that the mandatory reportingrequirement is effective for claims with dates of service on or after January 1, 2010. All otherinformation remains the same.Provider Types AffectedHospices billing regional home health intermediaries (RHHIs) or Medicare administrative contractors (A/BMACs) for providing routine home care, continuous home care, or respite care to Medicare beneficiaries.Provider Action Needed STOP – Impact to YouEffective January 1, 2010, hospices must report additional detail for visits with the appropriate revenuecodes (RCs) and HCPCS codes, or their claims will be returned.CAUTION – What You Need to KnowCR 6440, from which this article is taken, requires hospices (effective for claims with dates of service on orafter January 1, 2010) to report additional data on claims for Medicare payment that describe the servicesprovided when delivering routine home care, continuous home care, and respite care.GO – What You Need to DoYou should make sure that your billing staffs are aware of these new requirements. See the “Background”section for details.Home Health & Hospice February 1, 2010 38Medicare A Newsline Vol. 17, No. 5