This final rule makes changes to the hospice CoPs regarding hospice aide competency evaluation standards. In response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), CMS issued a number of regulatory waivers in order to support providers and suppliers involved in patient care. These waivers promoted greater flexibility and reduced burden, allowing hospices to focus on delivering improved patient care during the COVID-19 PHE. CMS is finalizing the use of the pseudo-patient for hospice aide competency training.

As a complementary change, CMS is also finalizing a policy that requires hospices to conduct a competency evaluation related to the deficient and related skill(s) noted during a hospice aide supervisory visit. This change will allow the hospice to focus on the hospice aides’ specific deficient and related skill(s) instead of assessing multiple areas within the competency evaluation. This will allow existing aides to be re-trained more quickly in order to return to the workforce to provide high quality patient care.

Related posts:

  1. Medicare Card – Other Medicare Hospice Payment Policies This final rule rebases and revises the labor shares for all four levels of care: routine home care, continuous home care, inpatient respite care, and general inpatient care based on the compensation cost weights for each level of care from the 2018 Medicare cost report data for freestanding hospices. The final FY 2022 labor shares […]...
  2. Medicare Card – Fiscal Year 2022 Hospice Payment Rate Update Share opens in new window opens in new window opens in new windowOn July 29, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule (CMS-1754-F) that updates Medicare hospice payments and the aggregate cap amount for FY 2022 in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This rule rebases the hospice […]...
  3. Medicare Card, Pre-existing Dental Conditions Medicare Card, Pre-existing Dental Conditions...
  4. Medicare and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which delayed the phase-out of the hospice wage index budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF) for FY 2009. Therefore we are posting a revised copy of the FY 2009 wage index (see Downloads section below), which includes a full (unreduced) BNAF. Please also see CR 6418 (Transmittal 1701, dated March 13, 2009 ) (see Downloads section below) for more information on the revision to the FY 2009 wage index....
  5. Medicare Card – Timely Transmission of Transition Record CMS proposed to remove three chart-abstracted measures from the IPF QRP for the FY 2024 payment determination and subsequent years because the costs associated with these measures outweigh the benefits of continuing to retain them in the IPF QRP. CMS is finalizing removal of one of these measures (Timely Transmission of Transition Record (Discharges from […]...
  6. Medicare Card – COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel (HCP) Measure For the FY 2023 payment determination and subsequent years, CMS is finalizing its proposal to adopt the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel (HCP) measure to the IPF QRP. The measure addresses the quality priority of “Promote Effective Prevention & Treatment of Chronic Disease” through the Meaningful Measures domain of Preventive Care. The process measure […]...
  7. Information on how well the hospitals care for all their adult patients with certain conditions or procedures information on how well the hospitals care for all their adult patients with certain conditions or procedures...
  8. Medicare Findings of NIH Clinical Center nursing initiative presented at pre-conference NIH Clinical Center Nursing and Patient Care Services will host a pre-conference, Clinical Research Nursing (CRN) 2010: Nursing Practice at America’s Research Hospital, and co-host the Second-Annual International Association of Clinical Research Nurses (IACRN) Conference. The events focus on the specialty of clinical research nursing. Members of the press are invited to attend both at […]...
  9. The Joint Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights The Joint Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights ...
  10. Medicare Card – Seniors are at a Higher Risk for Oral Health Care Problems Oral health care is important regardless of age. However for seniors they are at a higher risk for oral health care issues. The advancing age put many senior at risk for a number of dental care issues such as Dry Mouth, Darkened teeth, and Tooth Loss due to Gum disease. Age even has an effect […]...
  11. Medicare – Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act The Balanced Budget Act of 1997, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (OCESAA) of 1999, called for the development and implementation of a prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare home health services. The BBA put in place the interim payment system (IPS) until the PPS could be implemented. Effective October 1, 2000, the home health PPS (HH PPS) replaced the IPS for all home health agencies (HHAs). ...
  12. Medicare Card – Alcohol Use Brief Intervention CMS is not finalizing removal of the Alcohol Use Brief Intervention Provided or Offered and Alcohol Use Brief Intervention (SUB-2/2a) measure or the Tobacco Use Treatment Provided or Offered and Tobacco Use Treatment (TOB-2/2a) measure in response to comments indicating that these measures still provide benefits that outweigh the costs of retaining them in the […]...
  13. Medicare User Agreement Terms and Conditions Medicare User Agreement Terms and Conditions...
  14. I Want to Enroll in Medicare Medicare has two parts: To find out how you enroll in Medicare Part A & B, please go to My Medicare Enrollment...
  15. Medicare – Social Security Adds 38 New Compassionate Allowance Conditions Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances. This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions - 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers - was announced in October 2008. The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children. The complete list of the new Compassionate Allowance conditions is attached....