Washington, D.C. – This has been a good week for providers of care at home. Tireless advocacy by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and our partners at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, has resulted in the approval of the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act (H.R. 8261) through the Ways & Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

While the committee advanced the legislation, it will still need to be passed by the full House of Representatives and the Senate as well. This first step was crucial to get the bill on the pathway to its ultimate enactment into law. 

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released anticipated revisions to the State Operations Manual (SOM) that address the Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) and enforcement procedures for home health agencies and hospice programs.  The revisions, as stated in memo QSO-24-11-HHA & Hospice include guidance for State Agencies (SAs) and CMS Survey & Operations Group (SOG) Locations on recommending and imposing HHA alternative sanctions and hospice enforcement remedies. These revisions are effective immediately; however, state survey agency directors have 30 days to communicate the information to their staff.

Hospice, home health and other post-acute care providers are getting a clearer picture of CMS’ plans for capturing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) items in the future, with a request for information in the hospice payment rule laying out questions CMS envisions asking patients.

In March, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a request from one state to allow more personal care service delivery within acute care facilities. Though not yet widespread, the amendment could open doors for providers and patients needing personal care in alternative settings in the future.