HHS Renews Public Health Emergency, Keeping Key Home Health Waivers in Place

Home Health Care News / By Robert Holly
 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday opted to renew the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), keeping in place several regulatory waivers that have been critical lifelines for home health and hospice operators since the start of 2020.
 
While the extension itself is not surprising, it offers further stability as operators struggle with workforce shortages and general inflation, among other challenges. On top of that, the move gives hospital-at-home stakeholders extra time under the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver, as they work on gaining support for corresponding legislation in both the House and Senate.
 
The PHE has been repeatedly renewed since implemented by the Trump administration over 24 months ago.
 
Without action from HHS and the Biden administration, it was set to expire on April 16.
 
“With more than two years having passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, questions are being raised about when to end the public health emergency declarations made by the federal government early on, with some advocating for their extension and others calling for their expiration,” Kaiser Family Foundation experts wrote in a recently released issues brief. “There are numerous implications to ending these emergency declarations.”
 
Wednesday’s extension is for another 90 days, which will carry the PHE into July.
 
Under the PHE, federal regulators have waived or modified normal requirements for Medicare and Medicaid providers, plus private health insurers. While some waivers have focused on reducing reporting and supervision requirements, others have revolved around new telehealth allowances and funding support.
 
Medicare-certified home health agencies, in particular, have had access to a long list of waiver flexibilities…

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Home Health Value Based Purchasing Updates

The CMS HHVBP TA Team hosted a live learning event: HHVBP Model Expansion 101 in February, which presented information such as participation criteria, cohort assignment, quality measures, payment adjustment methodology, and performance feedback reports. The webinar concluded with a live Q&A session.

A recording, slide deck, and transcript of the event are now available. To access other expanded HHVBP Model information and resources, please visit the Expanded HHVBP Model webpage

In addition to the recording and materials for the HHVBP Model Expansion 101 event, the following resources are now available on the Expanded HHVBP Model webpage:

• Expanded HHVBP Model Frequently Asked Questions to assist HHAs in understanding common terms used in the expanded HHVBP Model and requirements under the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) final rule.
• Resources specific to the expanded HHVBP Model Total Normalized Composite (TNC) Change composite measures.
  • HHVBP Model Composite Measure Calculation Steps
  • HHVBP Model Technical Specifications Composite Outcome Measures

Despite Strong Bipartisan Support, Choose Home Facing Roadblocks

Home Health Care News | By Patrick Filbin
 
Although Congressional support continues to grow for the Choose Home Care Act of 2021 in Washington, D.C., the legislation remains in limbo.
 
Other pieces of legislation for lawmakers have pushed the Choose Home bill down the priority list, but National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi is hopeful something will come of it soon.
 
“Priorities in Washington became politics,” Dombi told Home Health Care News last week at the Capital+Strategy conference. “The amount of air in Washington to deal with new things kept disappearing.”
 
Choose Home — among other things — supports in-home care alternatives to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). If enacted, the legislation would enable certain Medicare patients to receive extended care services as an add-on to the existing Medicare home health benefit for 30 days following a hospital stay.
 
In addition to receiving skilled nursing or rehabilitation services from their home health provider, for example, a patient could potentially receive meals, non-emergency transportation, remote patient monitoring and more.
 
The idea is to give today’s highly diversified in-home care providers more flexibility and financial support to keep at-risk Medicare beneficiaries at home and out of costlier facility-based settings, in turn saving the U.S. health care system hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
 
Endorsed by the AARP and supported by a long list of home-based care advocates, Choose Home started gaining momentum on Capitol Hill early in 2021.
 
Now that Congress is through the budget and the U.S. government is trying to figure out how to properly aid and assist Ukraine, there should be time for Choose Home in political schedules, Dombi said.

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FAQs for Providers About the No Surprises Rules

CMS has posted updated Frequently asked Questions for providers about the No Surprises rules.  Information for providers and facilities regarding No Surprises rules, independent dispute resolution, and exceptions to the new rules and requirements can be found at: Frequently asked questions for providers about the No Surprises rules. (PDF)