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CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 2, 2021 Biden-Harris
Administration Improves Home Health Services for Older Adults and People with
Disabilities Final
rule accelerates shift from volume-based incentives to quality-based
incentives and advances coordination of care through Quality Reporting
Programs Today, the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that furthers CMS’ strategic
commitment to drive innovation that promotes comprehensive, person-centered
care for older adults and people with disabilities by accelerating the shift
from paying for home health services based on volume, to a system that
incentivizes value and quality. The final rule will also strengthen CMS’ data
collection efforts to identify and address health disparities and use of care
among people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, people with disabilities,
people who identify as LGBTQ+, religious minorities, people who live in rural
areas, and people otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or
inequality. The Calendar Year 2022 Home Health
Prospective Payment System (PPS) Final Rule addresses challenges facing
Medicare beneficiaries who receive health care at home. The final rule
finalizes nationwide expansion of the successful Home Health Value-Based
Purchasing (HHVBP) Model to incentivize quality of care improvements. “CMS is committed to helping people get the
care they need, where they need it,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita
Brooks-LaSure. “This final rule will improve the delivery of home health
services for people with Medicare. It will also improve our data collection
efforts, helping us to identify health disparities and advance health
equity.” The CMS Innovation Center (Innovation Center)
launched the original HHVBP Model on January 1, 2016, to determine whether
CMS could improve the quality and delivery of home health care services to
people with Medicare by offering financial incentives to providers that offer
better quality of care with greater efficiency. The original HHVBP Model
comprised all Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) providing
services across nine randomly selected states. The
Third Annual
Evaluation Report of the participants’ performance from 2016-2018 showed
an average 4.6 percent improvement in HHAs’ quality scores and an average
annual savings of $141 million to Medicare. The final policies promulgated in this rule
expand the HHVBP Model nationally, with the first performance year beginning
January 1, 2023. The HHVBP Model is one of four Innovation Center models that
have met the requirements to be expanded in duration and scope since 2010.
Starting in 2025, CMS will adjust fee-for-service payments to
Medicare-certified HHAs based on the quality of care provided to
beneficiaries during the CY 2023 performance year. Throughout 2022, CMS will
provide technical assistance to HHAs to ensure they understand how
performance will be assessed. Overall, these policies support the Agency’s
commitment to advancing value-based care by providing incentives for HHAs to
improve the beneficiary experience and quality of care. Additionally, the final rule will advance
CMS’ coordination of care efforts through improvements to the Home Health
Quality Reporting Program, Long-Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program,
and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Program and finalizes
the mandatory COVID-19 reporting requirements for Long Term Care facilities
(nursing homes) established as a part of the May 2020 and May 2021 Interim
Final Rules beyond the current COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE)
until December 31, 2024. The rule removes or replaces several quality
measures to reduce burden and increase focus on patient outcomes. CMS is also
finalizing its proposals to begin collecting data on two measures promoting
coordination of care in the Home Health Quality Reporting Program effective
January 1, 2023 as well as measures under Long-Term Care Hospital Quality
Reporting Program and Inpatient Rehabilitation Quality Reporting Program
effective October 1, 2022. The effective dates position the agency to support
the recent Executive Order 13985 of January 20, 2021, Advancing Racial Equity
and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Finally, this rule implements provisions of
the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 that establish survey and enforcement
requirements for hospice programs serving Medicare beneficiaries. These
provisions will require the use of multidisciplinary survey teams,
prohibition of surveyor conflicts of interest, and expansion of
surveyor training to include accrediting organizations (AOs). The
provisions also establish a hospice program complaint hotline and create the
authority for CMS to impose enforcement remedies for noncompliant hospice
programs. These changes will strengthen oversight, enhance enforcement, and
establish consistent and transparent survey requirements in hospice care. For a fact sheet on the proposed rule, visit:
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cms-finalizes-calendar-year-2022-home-health-prospective-payment-system-rate-update-home-health To download the proposed rule can be
downloaded from the Federal Register, visit at:https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2021-23993/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-cy-2022-home-health-prospective-payment-system-rate-update-home ### |
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Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Biden-Harris Administration Improves Home Health Services for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
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