Articles and Blogs

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and recasts the Medicare hospice survey requirements and establishes new Medicare enforcement options and procedures. The Act’s hospice provisions generally track those contained in the Helping our Senior Population in Comfort Environments, also known as the HOSPICE Act, which... READ MORE

On March 13, 2020, Secretary Azar of the Department of Health and Human Services (the “HHS”) issued a letter titled “Waiver or Modification of Requirements Under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act” (the “Azar Letter”) that grants the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (the “CMS”) the authority to issue waivers specific to... READ MORE

On December 11, 2019, the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality/Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum to State Survey Agency Directors entitled “Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Mission & Priority document (MPD) – Action” (“FY 2020 Memo”) that announced its work and intentions for the fiscal... READ MORE

On March 13, 2015, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”) released its annual report to Congress (“Report”). The Report contains MedPAC’s recommendation for improvements to Medicare payments to providers as well as recommendations on controls to help combat fraud and waste. As usual, MedPAC has concerns about home health and hospice and makes a... READ MORE

In the October 9, 2014 Federal Register, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) indicated it will delay enforcement of the Companion Services Rule (“Rule”) until June 30, 2015 (the “Notice”). The DOL suggests this delayed enforcement is meant to assist the provider community with implementing changes in the Rule. In its commentary, the DOL suggests... READ MORE

On April 21, 2014, Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration (“FSSA”) offered a webinar for nursing facilities to provide additional information on Indiana’s Medicaid changes and Qualified Income Trusts (also known as Miller Trusts). READ MORE

Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration continues its efforts to communicate, address and refine questions and issues related to the upcoming Medicaid coverage changes.  READ MORE

President Obama introduced his fiscal year (“FY”) 2015 budget yesterday, and there are many proposed cuts to post-acute care providers.  Some of the highlights include a number of bundled payment initiatives, a $100 co-pay for home health patients not discharged from a hospital and re-admission penalties for skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) with high hospital... READ MORE

Earlier this week, McKnight’s reported on a study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York relating to the length of stay at for-profit versus nonprofit hospice providers.  This study showed that, of the 600 Medicare certified hospices nationwide, for-profit hospices were more likely to have patients with a longer expected stay than... READ MORE

The Indiana Court of Appeals (“Court”) ruled that a daughter who signed a skilled nursing facility admissions agreement as her mother’s “responsible party” was not liable for her mother’s unpaid skilled nursing facility bill because the daughter did not have authority over her mother’s finances or access to her mother’s finances. READ MORE