2020 Home Health & Hospice News and Articles Archive
Click on a month to expand.
December
- The January 2021 J15 Medicare Bulletin is now available – 12.31.20
- Medicare FFS Claims: 2% Payment Adjustment (Sequestration) Suspended Through March – 12.28.20
- Your Feedback Matters! – 12.28.20
- January 2021 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 12.28.20
- The EDI Connection Winter 2020 Edition is now available – 12.28.20
- MLN Connects® for Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – 12.23.20
- COVID-19 Vaccine Codes: Updated Effective Date for Moderna – 12.22.20
- CMS COVID-19 Vaccine Resources – 12.22.20
- January 2021 Release "Dark Days" for the Common Working File (CWF) Hosts – 12.22.20
- COVID-19: Add-on Payment for New Treatments – 12.18.20
- Monitoring for Hospital Price Transparency – 12.18.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, December 17, 2020 – 12.17.20
- COVID-19 Vaccine Codes: Updated Effective Date for Pfizer-BioNTech – 12.15.20
- Introducing the NEW CGS EDI Application Status Check Tool! – 12.15.20
- 2021 Provider Enrollment Application Fee Amount – 12.14.20
- Introducing…myCGS Account Linking! – 12.11.20
- CMS Proposes New Rules to Address Prior Authorization and Reduce Burden on Patients and Providers – 12.11.20
- In Case You Missed It: CMS Announces Guidance for Medicare Coverage of COVID-19 Antibody Treatment – 12.10.20
- The Medicare Home Infusion Therapy (HIT) Benefit and Home Health Agencies – 12.10.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, December 10, 2020 – 12.10.20
- COVID-19 Antibody Treatment and Enforcement Discretion Reminder – 12.03.20
- Trump Administration Finalizes Policies to Give Medicare Beneficiaries More Choices around Surgery – 12.03.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, December 3, 2020 – 12.03.20
- Provider Enrollment Application Fee Amount for CY 2021 – 12.02.20
- Permanent Expansion of Medicare Telehealth Services and Improved Payment for Time Doctors Spend with Patients – 12.02.20
November 2020
- The December 2020 J15 Medicare Bulletin is now available – 11.30.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, November 25, 2020 – 11.25.20
- Influenza and Pneumonia Vaccinations in the Home Health and/or Hospice Setting – 11.24.20
- VBID Hospice Benefit Component Information Now Available – 11.24.20
- December 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 11.23.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, November 19, 2020 – 11.19.20
- Hospice Self-Determined Cap Changes – 11.18.20
- Voluntary Refunds – Calendar Year 2020 – 11.16.20
- COVID-19 Vaccine Codes and PC-ACE Software Update – 11.13.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, November 12, 2020 – 11.12.20
- CMS Takes Steps to Ensure Medicare Beneficiaries Have Wide Access to COVID-19 Antibody Treatment – 11.11.20
- Clarification to the New Eligibility From and Through Date Fields – 11.10.20
- Top Claim Submission Errors: Duplicate Claims and Requests for Anticipated Payment (RAPs) – 11.10.20
- Hospice End of Life (EOL) Service Intensity Add-on (SIA) Payment – 11.10.20
- How can you recognize an SMRC audit? The SMRC has begun mailing all additional document request (ADR) letters in green envelopes to assist with proper notification of review. Please notify your mail department of this change to allow SMRC requests to be received by the appropriate departments to be handled timely. – 11.05.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, November 5, 2020 – 11.05.20
- ESRD & Home Health Payment Rules – 11.03.20
- CGSMedicare.com to Be Updated for Improved Mobile Responsiveness – 11.03.20
October 2020
- The November 2020 J15 Medicare Bulletin is now available – 10.30.20
- Trump Administration Acts to Ensure Coverage of Life-Saving COVID-19 Vaccines & Therapeutics – 10.29.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, October 29, 2020 – 10.29.20
- New CMS Proposals Streamline Medicare Coverage, Payment, and Coding for Innovative New Technologies and Provide Beneficiaries with Diabetes Access to More Therapy Choices – 10.28.20
- November 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 10.27.20
- Friendly Reminder: Reason Code 37253 – 10.27.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, October 22, 2020 – 10.22.20
- The Fall 2020 edition of the EDI Connection is now available – 10.20.20
- Updated 2021 Amount in Controversy (AIC) for Administrative Law Judge Hearings or Federal District Court Appeals – 10.20.20
- Home Health Ordering/Referring Requirements – 10.20.20
- Medicare Credit Balance Quarterly Reminder – 10.19.20
- Enforcement Discretion Relating to Certain Pharmacy Billing – 10.16.20
- Trump Administration Drives Telehealth Services in Medicaid and Medicare – 10.15.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, October 15, 2020 – 10.15.20
- myCGS Now Offers MORE Hospice Information! – 10.15.20
- Renewal of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) – 10.15.20
- Google Authenticator: A New Way to Access myCGS! – 10.15.20
- CMS Announces New Repayment Terms for Medicare Loans Made to Providers During COVID-19 – 10.09.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, October 8, 2020 – 10.08.20
- Reminder: When to Submit a Corrected Notice of Termination/Revocation (NOTR) – 10.06.20
- New Hospice Election Requirements – 10.01.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, October 1, 2020 – 10.01.20
September 2020
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, September 24, 2020 – 09.24.20
- October 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 09.23.20
- Website Updates: New G-Codes for Home Health Therapy Assistants – 09.21.20
- October 2020 Release "Dark Days" for the Common Working File (CWF) Hosts – 09.21.20
- New COVID-19 Nursing Home Visitation Guidance, Kidney Disease Care Model, & Radiation Oncology Payment Model – 09.18.20
- Nursing Home COVID-19 Commission Findings, Oregon Wildfires, & Flu – 09.18.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, September 17, 2020 – 09.17.20
- Updated Fiscal Intermediary Standard System (FISS) Direct Data Entry (DDE) Screen Changes – 09.16.20
- Hospices Wage Index and Counties That Must Use 50xxx Code CBSA for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 – 09.14.20
- Community Health Access and Rural Transformation Model – 09.11.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, September 10, 2020 – 09.10.20
- September 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 09.09.20
- CMS Advancing Seniors' Access to Cutting-edge Therapies and Technology in Medicare Hospital Rule – 09.03.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, September 3, 2020 – 09.03.20
August 2020
- Reminder: How to Correct an Erroneously Submitted Hospice Election Date – 08.31.20
- CMS Offers Comprehensive Support for Louisiana and Texas with Hurricane Laura – 08.28.20
- Home Health and Hospice Postpayment Review Resources – 08.27.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, August 27, 2020 – 08.27.20
- UPDATED ALERT: The J15 Provider Contact Center telephone lines are now operational. – 08.25.20
- ALERT: The J15 Provider Contact Center telephone lines are experiencing technical difficulties. No estimated time for resolution is available. CGS will provide you with an update as soon as one is available. We apologize for the inconvenience. – 08.24.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, August 20, 2020 – 08.20.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, August 13, 2020 – 08.13.20
- MACs Resume Medical Review on a Post-Payment Basis – 08.11.20
- Update: Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), Form CMS-R-131 Renewal – 08.06.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, August 6, 2020 – 08.06.20
- PFS, OPPS, and IRF: FY 2021 Payment Rules – 08.05.20
- CGS Office Has a New Address! – 08.04.20
- FY 2021 Medicare Payment Policies for IPFs, SNFs, and Hospices – 08.03.20
July 2020
- Payment for COVID-19 Counseling, Reporting Hospital Therapeutics, Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs – 07.30.20
- Renewal of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) – 07.30.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, July 30, 2020 – 07.30.20
- August 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 07.29.20
- Trump Administration Announces New Resources to Protect Nursing Home Residents Against COVID-19 – 07.23.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, July 23, 2020 – 07.23.20
- Reason Code 34982: Occurrence Code 50 Reminder – 07.21.20
- COVID-19: Nursing Home Testing, SNF Benefit Period Waiver – 07.20.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, July 16, 2020 – 07.16.20
- Medicare Credit Balance Quarterly Reminder – 07.14.20
- The Summer 2020 edition of the EDI Connection is now available – 07.14.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, July 9, 2020 – 07.09.20
- ESRD PPS CY 2021 Proposed Rule; COVID-19: New and Expanded Flexibilities for RHCs & FQHCs – 07.07.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, July 2, 2020 – 07.02.20
June 2020
- The Role of Therapy under the Home Health Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) – 06.30.20
- The July 2020 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Bulletin is now available – 06.30.20
- COVID-19: SNF Benefit Period Waiver, HHAs Proposed Rule, Ending Nursing Home Blanket Waiver – 06.26.20
- July 2020 Release "Dark" Days for the Common Working File (CWF) Hosts – 06.25.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, June 25, 2020 – 06.25.20
- July 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 06.24.20
- CGS Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System Changes – 06.24.20
- Medicare Coverage of COVID-19 Testing for Nursing Home Residents and Patients – 06.22.20
- Beneficiary Eligibility Enhancements to myCGS – 06.19.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, June 18, 2020 – 06.18.20
- Updated Fiscal Intermediary Standard System (FISS) Direct Data Entry (DDE) Screen Changes – 06.18.20
- New Defined Thresholds for Medicare Low Utilization Cost Reports – 06.11.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, June 11, 2020 – 06.11.20
- Home Health Plans of Care: NPs, CNSs and PAs Allowed to Certify – 06.04.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, June 4, 2020 – 06.04.20
- COVID-19: Using the CR Modifier and DR Condition Code – 06.02.20
- The June 2020 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Bulletin is now available – 06.01.20
May 2020
- New COVID-19 FAQs on Medicare Fee-for-Service Billing – 05.29.20
- June 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 05.28.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, May 28, 2020 – 05.28.20
- The Spring 2020 edition of the EDI Connection is now available – 05.21.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, May 21, 2020 – 05.21.20
- COVID-19: Payment for Lab Tests, Safely Reopening Nursing Homes, Lab & Ambulance Claims – 05.20.20
- Top Claim Submission Errors For Home Health and Hospice: Data and Resources! – 05.19.20
- COVID-19: Deadlines, New Releases, and Important Calls – 05.18.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, May 14, 2020 – 05.14.20
- COVID-19: Additional Waivers, Price Transparency, and CMS Letter to Nursing Homes – 05.13.20
- COVID-19: Nursing Home Reporting, Updated Telehealth Video, Pharmacies & Other Suppliers Can Enroll as Labs, IRF Flexibilities – 05.08.20
- MLN Connects® for May 7, 2020 – 05.07.20
- Common Working File (CWF) Dark Day for Annual History Archive – 05.06.20
- FISS DDE Access and Resources – 05.05.20
- Determining Homebound – 05.05.20
- Medicare FFS Claims: 2% Payment Adjustment Suspended (Sequestration) – 05.04.20
- Kentucky & Ohio Joint Open Public Draft/Revised LCD Discussion Meeting: Draft Local Coverage Determinations – Tuesday, June 23, 2020 – 05.01.20
- COVID-19: Second Round of Sweeping Changes, RHC & FQHC Flexibilities, EMTALA – 05.01.20
April 2020
- The May 2020 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Bulletin is now available – 04.30.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, April 30, 2020 – 04.30.20
- May 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 04.28.20
- CMS Reevaluates Accelerated Payment Program and Suspends Advance Payment Program – 04.27.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, April 23, 2020 – 04.23.20
- COVID-19: Nursing Home Transparency, Recommendations for Areas with Low Incidence of Disease – 04.20.20
- COVID-19: RHC & FQHC Flexibilities, Increased Payment for Lab Tests, Hospital Waivers, Call Audio and Transcript – 04.17.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, April 16, 2020 – 04.16.20
- COVID-19: Reprocessing Hospital Claims, Essential Diagnostic Services, Non-Invasive Ventilators – 04.15.20
- Immediate Infusion of $30 Billion into Health Care System – 04.13.20
- COVID-19: Infection Control, Maximizing Workforce, Updated Q&A, CS Modifier for Cost-Sharing, Payment Adjustment Suspended – 04.10.20
- Medicare Credit Balance Quarterly Reminder – 04.10.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, April 9, 2020 – 04.09.20
- COVID-19: Telehealth Video, Coinsurance and Deductible Waived, ASC Attestations, Ambulance Modifiers, Lessons From Front Lines, MLN Call Today – 04.07.20
- COVID-19: Telehealth Billing Correction, Nursing Home Recommendations, Billing for Multi-Function Ventilators, New ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code – 04.03.20
- Telehealth Services – 04.02.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, April 2, 2020 – 04.02.20
- Medical Review Update – 04.01.20
March 2020
- COVID-19: Regulatory Changes, Telehealth Billing, and Specimen Collection Codes – 03.31.20
- Medical Review Denial Reason Codes – 03.21.20
- The April 2020 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Bulletin is now available – 03.31.20
- COVID-19: Financial Relief, Nursing Home Telehealth, Quality Reporting, Clinical Laboratories, Hospital Data Sharing – 03.30.20
- Telehealth Services During the Public Health Emergency – 03.30.20
- COVID-19: Enrollment Relief, Open Payments, Beneficiary Notices – 03.27.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, March 26, 2020 – 03.26.20
- Reason Code 37253: What to Look For – 03.25.20
- April 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 03.25.20
- Cost Report: Delay Filing Deadline For Part A, Home Health, and Hospice Providers – 03.25.20
- April 2020 Release "Dark Days" for the Common Working File (CWF) Hosts – 03.24.20
- COVID-19: Relief for Quality Reporting Programs and Provider Enrollment – 03.24.20
- COVID-19: Telehealth and Non-Essential Procedures – 03.23.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, March 19, 2020 – 03.19.20
- Updated Fiscal Intermediary Standard System (FISS) Direct Data Entry (DDE) Screen Changes – 03.18.20
- President Trump Expands Telehealth Benefits for Medicare Beneficiaries During COVID-19 Outbreak – 03.17.20
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources – 03.17.20
- COVID-19: FFS Response and Nursing Home Visitor Guidance – 03.16.20
- COVID-19: Test Pricing, Diagnostic Lab Tests, Pricing & Codes, and EHB Coverage – 03.16.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, March 12, 2020 – 03.12.20
- Process Improvements Based On Your 2019 MSI Survey Feedback! – 03.11.20
- Reminder: Where to Send Refund Checks – 03.11.20
- Hospice Certification of Terminal Illness Resources – 03.11.20
- COVID-19 Response: CMS Issues FAQs to Assist Medicare Providers – 03.09.20
- CMS Develops Additional Code for Coronavirus Lab Tests – 03.06.20
- CMS Announces Actions to Address Spread of Coronavirus – 03.05.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, March 5, 2020 – 03.05.20
- Update to myCGS Administrator Unlock Feature! – 03.04.20
- Updated Fiscal Intermediary Standard System (FISS) Direct Data Entry (DDE) Website Resources – 03.03.20
- Evaluate Our Services! – 03.02.20
February 2020
- The March 2020 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Bulletin is now available – 02.28.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, February 27, 2020 – 02.27.20
- Process Improvements Based On Your 2019 MSI Survey Feedback! – 02.27.20
- Changes are Coming to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Forms – 02.26.20
- Targeted Probe and Educate Progress Update – 02.26.20
- March 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 02.24.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, February 20, 2020 – 02.20.20
- Additional Way to Submit Self-Determined Aggregate Cap – 02.19.20
- Coming in March 2020! – 02.18.20
- Reason Code 37253 and the OASIS Assessment – 02.17.20
- FISS DDE Resources – 02.17.20
- New Home Health Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) Tool – 02.17.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, February 13, 2020 – 02.13.20
- Just Have a General Question? – 02.12.20
- 2019 Hospice Self-Determined Aggregate Cap Reminder – 02.11.20
- Remittance Advice Provider Resources – 02.06.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, February 6, 2020 – 02.06.20
- Did You Know??? – 02.03.20
January 2020
- The February 2020 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Bulletin is now available – 01.31.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, January 30, 2020 – 01.30.20
- The Self-Administered Drug Exclusion List and Biologicals Excluded from Coverage – Medical Policy Article (A52527) has been revised. – 01.30.20
- February 2020 Home Health and Hospice Provider Contact Center (PCC) Training – 01.29.20
- Making it Easy to Submit Your Credit Balance Report Using myCGS – 01.27.20
- How To Reduce Errors for Hospice Sequential Billing: Reason Code 37402 – 01.27.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, January 23, 2020 – 01.23.20
- Top Home Health and Hospice Medical Review Denial Resources – 01.22.20
- How Can You Reduce Errors for Reason Codes (RC) 38107? – 01.22.20
- Hospice Interdisciplinary Review/Plan of Care Update Reminder – 01.21.20
- Upcoming MBI Look-Up Tool Outage – 01.16.18
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, January 16, 2020 – 01.16.20
- Kentucky & Ohio Joint Onsite Open Public Draft/Revised LCD Discussion Meeting: Draft Local Coverage Determinations – Tuesday, February 18th, 2020 – 01.15.20
- 2020 Home Health & Hospice Provider Outreach and Education (POE) Advisory Group Membership Drive – 01.14.20
- Medicare Credit Balance Quarterly Reminder – 01.13.20
- MLN Connects® for Thursday, January 9, 2020 – 01.09.20
- myCGS Availability – 01.09.20
- Home Health PDGM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – 01.07.20
- myCGS Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Email Reminder – 01.07.20
- Hospice Self-Determined Aggregate Cap Reminder – 01.07.20
- Home Health RAPs: Hold Starting January 1, 2020 – 01.07.20
- January 2020 EDI Edit Spreadsheet Changes – 01.02.20
- Home Health PDGM Billing Resources – 01.02.20
- The acceptance of a voluntary refund as repayment for the claim specified in no way affects or limits the rights of the Federal Government, or any of its agencies or agents, to pursue any appropriate criminal, civil, or administrative remedies arising from or relating to these or any other claims. – 01.02.20