Volume #8-2023 | October 2023 | |
You're receiving this email because of your relationship with the Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care. Thank you for your continued commitment to serving the citizens of our Commonwealth!
Cabinet for Health & Family Services
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
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Home Health Agency Newsletter
October 2023
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Register for CMS’ 2023 CMS Health Equity Confidential
Feedback Reports Live Q&A
On November 16, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a live Q&A session regarding the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports released on October 16, 2023. The Q&A session will give participants an opportunity to ask and learn about answers to commonly asked questions regarding the report’s methodologies and interpretations from CMS subject matter experts.
Register for the live Q&A session HERE.
Already have questions about the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports? Please send questions to CMSHealthEquityCFRSession@ketchum.com by November 2, 2023, for potential inclusion in the Q&A session. Please note that CMS will answer as many questions as time permits and some questions will not be asked verbatim. CMS will post all questions and answers on each of the PAC Training & Education pages sometime after the webinar.
Prepare for the Live Q&A Webinar:
To prepare for the November 16 live Q&A session, please review the October 16, 2023, Online Webinar recording, with slides, a transcript, and a Fact Sheet providing an overview of the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports available in the “Downloads” section on each of the following PAC Training & Education pages:
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Home Health Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage.
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Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage.
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Long Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage.
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Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage.
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NOW AVAILABLE IN iQIES - Preview Reports and Star Rating
Preview Reports for the January 2024 Refresh
For this refresh, Home Health (HH) Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) and all HH QRP claims-based measures have been updated and are now based on the standard number of quarters.
For additional information, please see the HH Quality Reporting Training webpage and the Home Health Data Submission Deadlines webpage.
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Home Health Quality Reporting Program: Non-Compliance Notifications
CMS is providing notifications to home health agencies that were determined to be out of compliance with the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HHQRP) requirements for calendar year (CY) 2022, which will affect their calendar year (CY) 2024 Annual Payment Update (APU). Non-compliance notifications will be distributed by the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and will be placed into Home Health Agencies (HHA) My Reports folders in iQIES around October 6, 2023. HHA’s that receive a letter of non-compliance may submit a request for reconsideration to CMS via email no later than 11:59 pm, November 13, 2023. If you receive a notice of non-compliance and would like to request a reconsideration, see the instructions in your notification and on the Home Health Quality Reporting Reconsideration and Exception & Extension webpage.
Please note: Any reconsideration containing protected health information (PHI) will not be processed. All PHI must be removed in order for a reconsideration to be reviewed.
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NOW AVAILABLE: CMS Post-Acute Care Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports with Online Webinar and Fact Sheet
As part of our commitment to advance health equity and strengthen the Medicare Program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have released two Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports to post-acute care (PAC) providers: the Discharge to Community (DTC) Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report and the Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB) Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report. To provide insight on outcome differences across social risk factors, the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports stratify these two PAC Quality Reporting Program measure outcomes by Medicare-Medicaid dual-enrollment status (duals and non-duals), as well as patient race/ethnicity (Non-White and White patients). This data is meant to provide feedback to providers about their performance for certain populations who may have been historically disadvantaged. These reports are educational for providers, and to identify opportunities for providers to focus their internal quality improvement initiatives to provide all individuals their best opportunity to achieve their best potential health outcomes.
CMS released the PAC Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports through the Internet Quality Improvement & Evaluation System (iQIES) reports folders. To locate your Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports in iQIES, please follow the instructions listed below:
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Log into iQIES at https://iqies.cms.gov/ using your Health Care Quality Information Systems (HCQIS) Access Roles and Profile (HARP) user ID and password. If you do not have a HARP account, you may register for a HARP ID.
- From the Reports menu, select My Reports.
- From the My Reports page, locate and select the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports folder link.
- Displayed for you is a list of reports available for download.
- Select the report name link to view the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report data
Additionally, CMS posted an Online Webinar recording with slides, transcript, and Fact Sheet providing an overview of the Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports on each of the following PAC pages:
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Home Health Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage;
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Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage;
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Long Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage; and the
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Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage.
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Care Compare Quarterly Refresh – October 2023
The October 2023 quarterly refresh for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program is now available on Care Compare. For this refresh, Home Health (HH) Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) will be based on the standard number of quarters. The HH QRP claims-based measures have been updated for this refresh and, with the exception of PPR, are now based on the standard number of quarters.
For additional information on the COVID-19 public health emergency’s impact on public reporting, please see the HH QRP COVID-19 Public Reporting Tip Sheet in the downloads section of the HH Quality Reporting Training webpage and the FY 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Update Final Rule (HH Rider).
The October 2023 refresh will add a new claims-based measure for public reporting:
- Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations (PPH)
The refresh will also remove an OASIS measure from public reporting:
- Drug education on all medications provided to patient/caregiver
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Updated Quarterly OASIS Q&As
October 2023 OASIS Q&A's are available in the OASIS Quarterly Q&As section of the CMS QTSO HHA Reference and Manuals webpage.
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OASIS Answers Home Health Training Webinars
The OASIS Answers, Inc. (OAI) home health training webinars are designed to provide the most innovative training to your clinicians, clinical leaders, quality improvement teams and auditors. These sessions will ensure that you are aware of and know how to apply the most recent, most relevant, and most accurate CMS home health information. Topics are based on the issues that are most pertinent to agencies and will be driven by CMS updates or changes that are critical to agency success. Check out the webinar topics listed HERE!
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Interested in Serving on an IDR Panel?
Kentucky requires one member of the IDR panel to be "a person currently engaged in the provision of Home Health Agency services who has no affiliation with the provider disputing a deficiency." Typically, a Home Health Agency Director is on each IDR panel. There is no payment or travel reimbursement for a Director serving on a panel. Directors will be rotated. If a Home Health Agency Director is interested in serving on a panel, a confidentiality statement must be signed prior to the participation in the first IDR panel.
Jennifer Smith, RN
RAI/Oasis/IDR-IIDR Coordinator
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
275 E. Main St., 5E-A
Frankfort, KY 40621
Fax: (502) 564-6546
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Home Health Agency Questions and Answers
Home Health Agency (HHA) Providers can access the Home Health and OASIS Q&As and other reference manuals on the HHA Providers Reference site.
These questions and their responses have been developed over many years of experience training OASIS coordinators and are currently used as part of the Home Health Agency Surveyor Training program. They can and should be used by home health agency providers in training new staff on the basics of OASIS and also as a refresher for existing staff.
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OASIS CONTACT INFORMATION |
For questions regarding OASIS Assessment, Coding, Transmission or Technical Issues,
For questions regarding HHA Licensing or Regulations,
contact Rose Thompson via e-mail.
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Please note: Do not send any identifiable patient information through e-mail. This includes patient names, SSNs, dates of birth or any other data items considered identifiers or Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA. Please redact any PHI prior to sending.
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OASIS DATA SPECIFICATIONS | |  |
KARES
To enroll in KARES voluntarily, please click the icon above and follow the self-directed enrollment process.
For additional information about the program, please contact the help desk at (502) 564-2159 or via email.
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Click here to visit the website or click here for guidance on how to verify and update home health demographic data.
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Reporting Complaints
Email addresses have been established for use by patients and the general public to report possible violations of regulatory requirements. Click Here for the email addresses and additional contact information based on the facility's location.
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Which Branch
is Serving You?
To provide the highest level of service, the Division of Health Care operates through four regional offices. Knowing the appropriate Branch to contact with questions and concerns will ensure you receive maximum service in minimum time. Review links below for detailed information.
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CMS Survey and Certification memoranda, guidance, clarifications and instructions to State Survey Agencies and CMS Regional Offices.
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Medicare Learning Network
Let the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) be your home for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) education, information, and resources.
Visit the Medicare Learning Network for free educational materials for health care professionals on CMS programs, policies, and initiatives.
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Quality, Safety & Education Portal
CMS's QSEP provides the full curriculum of surveyor training and guidance on health care facility regulations. All training is available on-demand on a top-notch self-service portal. 24/7 access means you have the freedom to learn what you want, where you want, when you want.
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Sign Up for This Newsletter
If you have received a copy of this newsletter from a friend or co-worker, you can click on the Sign Up button to enter your information and join our mailing list.
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Employment Opportunities
To search and apply for positions within the Office of Inspector General, please visit the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet's web page by clicking the sign above.
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Commonwealth of Kentucky | Office of Inspector General | 275 East Main St., Frankfort, KY 40621 | |
The Office of Inspector General is the regulatory and licensing agency for all health care, day care and long-term care facilities and child adoption/child-placing agencies in the commonwealth.
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