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Hospice Special Focus Program Proposal Expected This Summer
The Health Group
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 authorized the Secretary of Health & Human Services to create a Special Focus Program (SFP) which aims to address issues that place hospice beneficiaries at risk for poor quality of care through increased oversight and/or technical assistance. According to CMS, the SFP will help to ensure hospices in the program are held accountable for poor quality of care.
CMS has indicated that a proposal for the structure of the SFP would be included in the home health proposed rules, which is generally issued in mid-summer.
CMS contracted with Abt Associates, Inc. (Abt), an independent research company, to support the development of the hospice SFP. To gain input from key stakeholders on various aspects of the SFP, Abt convened a TEP comprised of a wide range of hospice experts and held four listening sessions with additional stakeholder groups. The TEP and stakeholders opined on the SFP methodology to identify poor performing hospices and other components of the program, including additional oversight and technical assistance to hospices selected for the program to enable continuous improvement.
On April 28, 2023, Abt Associates, Inc. issued their report entitled “2022 Technical Expert Panel and Stakeholder Listening Sessions: Hospice Special Focus Program Summary Report.” The report is available here.
The SFP is only one (1) of the many efforts directed at hospice program integrity. Hospices need to remain aware of developments regarding SFP as well as other current and planned hospice integrity initiatives of CMS. |
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NAHC Safety Task Force
National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) and Johns Hopkins Care at Home (JHCH) welcome comments on the drafted home care employee safety guide from NAHC members and other expert individuals.
NAHC Safety Task Force has come together to address the uniqueness and unpredictability of home care worker safety by creating a Call to Action: Protecting our Home Care Employees, a starting point for recommendations within an employee safety plan.
To further strengthen our unified mission and goal to improve employee safety for those working in the home and community, we invite you to participate in an open comment period to share your feedback and recommendations.
The open comment period will occur from May 1, 2023, to June 2, 2023.
Submit Feedback
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Denial Rates Rising Thanks to Home Health Cuts, Dombi, Cunningham Say
McKnight’s Home Care
As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services prepares to release its proposed home health rule for calendar year 2024, providers are holding out hope that CMS will omit any further rate cuts. In this McKnight’s Home Care Newsmakers podcast, National Association for Home Care & Hospice President William Dombi and Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare CEO Joanne Cunningham talked about their efforts to stop any reductions. They also discussed how the 3.925% permanent cut that went into effect in January has had significant effects on hospital-to-home-health conversation rates.
Listen to Podcast |
It’s Mental Health Awareness Month
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a good time to think about ways in which you can protect your mental health, including taking steps to manage stress.
Long-term stress can contribute to or worsen many mental and physical health problems. But fortunately, there are ways to counteract its effects. We have access to a built-in “stress reset button” that acts as an antidote to stress. It’s called the relaxation response. It’s the opposite of your body’s response to stress. The relaxation response slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, and decreases oxygen consumption and levels of stress hormones.
By learning simple techniques that produce the relaxation response—such as progressive muscle relaxation, simple mindfulness exercises, and slow, deep breathing—you can help prevent stress from building up. That’s good for both your mind and your body.
Learn More About Stress |
Surgeon General Outlines Framework to Address Loneliness
The Hill | By Lauren Sforza
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., plans to introduce a three-part framework to address loneliness in the US, as about half of Americans are experiencing loneliness at any given time, and social disconnection can lead to an increased risk of mental health and physical issues in addition to premature death. Social connection must be a priority and "will require reorienting ourselves, our communities, and our institutions to prioritize human connection and healthy relationships," Dr. Murthy writes.
Read Full Story |
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