All Entries Tagged With: "face-to-face"
Face-to-face requirement
Please take a moment to let us know how the face-to-face encounter requirement has affected your organization. Please feel free to elaborate on any challenges you have encountered in the comments section below.
Home health face-to-face requirement effective April 1
The home healthcare face-to-face requirement will go into effect as scheduled.
CMS Director Jonathan Blum told the Face-to-Face Workgroup that CMS expects full compliance with the home health face-to-face requirement starting April 1.
The requirement mandates that any patient referred to a home health agency must have a face-to-face encounter with a physician or other licensed independent practitioner (e.g., nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant). Failure to comply will result in a payment denial.
The Face-to-Face Workgroup, which is made up of representatives from ACMA and a number of other organizations, has been actively working to share with CMS their concerns regarding the face-to-face requirement.
Linda Sallee, RN, MS, CMAC, IQCI, member of the ACMA National Board of Directors, met with CMS Administrators in Washington, DC to discuss case management’s concerns related to the home health face-to-face requirement March 18.
ACMA also detailed its concerns in a March 17 letter to CMS, which is available on the ACMA website. The letter included three requests, one of which asked CMS to delay the implementation of the requirement. Others included the development of a standardized tool for documenting that the face-to-face encounter occurred and that CMS would conduct educational efforts for providers.
Read the CMS email that states the agency expects full compliance with the requirement.
Read more about ACMA’s public policy efforts at the ACMA website.
ACMA meets with CMS to discuss face-to-face requirement concerns
The ACMA public policy committee presented its concerns about the new face-to-face requirement to CMS, and expects a response from the agency next week.
The face-to-face requirement mandates that any patient referred to a home health agency must have a face-to-face encounter with a physician or other licensed independent practitioner (e.g., nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant). Failure to comply will result in a denial of payment. Penalties for noncompliance become effective April 1, 2011.
Linda Sallee, RN, MS, CMAC, IQCI, a member of the ACMA National Board of Directors, represented ACMA during a multi-organization meeting on the face-to-face issue. Other organizations represented at the meeting included American Association of Retired Persons, American Hospital Association, AMA, American Medical Directors Association, Center for Medicare Advocacy, National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Society of Hospital Medicine and the Visiting Nurse Associations of America.
ACMA compiled a list of the major issues affecting case managers after receiving member feedback and discussions by its public policy committee. The issues include:
- Lack of standardization
- Redundancies for case managers
- Difficulty discharging to rural areas
- Burden on physicians/physician compliance
- Confusion among practitioners
ACMA detailed each of its concerns in a March 17 letter to CMS. Read the letter here.
Read more about ACMA’s efforts regarding the face-to-face requirement issue at the ACMA website.
