NHPCO REGULATORY ALERT

CMS-1780-P: Medicare Program – Calendar Year 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update; Home Health Quality Reporting Program Requirements; etc.

Summary at a Glance

The Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Home Health (HH) Prospective Payment System Rate Update; HH Quality Reporting Program Requirements; HH Value-Based Purchasing Expanded Model Requirements; Home Intravenous Immune Globulin Items and Services; Hospice Informal Dispute Resolution and Special Focus Program Requirements, Certain Requirements for Durable Medical Equipment Prosthetics and Orthotics Supplies; and Provider and Supplier Enrollment proposed rule was posted for public inspection in the Federal Register on June 30, 2023. It will post in the Federal Register on July 10, 2023.

This rule contains a number of hospice provisions, which are detailed below:

1. Hospice Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR), which allows a hospice with a condition-level survey finding to resolve disputes related to the findings informally and allow for continued participation in Medicare.

2. Hospice Special Focus Program, which provides details on the proposed implementation of the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP), including selection, requirements while in the program, possible additional enforcement remedies, posting SFP participation in Care Compare, and completion and graduation from the SFP or termination from the Medicare program.

3. Home health and hospice health equity discussion and possible future health activities and measures.

4. Provider enrollment proposals for hospices, including categorical risk screening, with a high-risk designation for some hospices, fingerprint requirements, proposed 36-month rule for changes in majority ownership, deactivation timeframe changes, expanded definition of managing employees and more.

Comments on this proposed rule will be due on August 30, 2023. Implementation date for the final rule will be January 1, 2024.

The full analysis of the rule can be accessed via the Regulatory Alerts page on NHPCO's website.