Department of Health and Human Services July 12, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would update the home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) payment rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor, effective for home health episodes of care ending on or after January 1, 2019. It also proposes updates to the HH PPS case-mix weights for calendar year (CY) 2019 using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking; discusses our efforts to monitor the potential impacts of the rebasing adjustments that were implemented in CYs 2014 through 2017; proposes a rebasing of the HH market basket (which includes a decrease in the labor-related share); proposes the methodology used to determine rural add-on payments for CYs 2019 through 2022, as required by section 50208 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 hereinafter referred to as the ``BBA of 2018''; proposes regulations text changes regarding certifying and recertifying patient eligibility for Medicare home health services; and proposes to define ``remote patient monitoring'' and recognize the cost associated as an allowable administrative cost. Additionally, it proposes case-mix methodology refinements to be implemented for home health services beginning on or after January 1, 2020, including a change in the unit of payment from 60-day episodes of care to 30-day periods of care, as required by section 51001 of the BBA of 2018; includes information on the implementation of temporary transitional payments for home infusion therapy services for CYs 2019 and 2020, as required by section 50401 of the BBA of 2018; solicits comments regarding payment for home infusion therapy services for CY 2021 and subsequent years; proposes health and safety standards for home infusion therapy; and proposes an accreditation and oversight process for home infusion therapy suppliers. This rule proposes changes to the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model to remove two OASIS-based measures, replace three OASIS-based measures with two new proposed composite measures, rescore the maximum number of improvement points, and reweight the measures in the applicable measures set. Also, the Home Health Quality Reporting Program provisions include a discussion of the Meaningful Measures Initiative and propose the removal of seven measures to further the priorities of this initiative. In addition, the HH QRP offers a discussion on social risk factors and an update on implementation efforts for certain provisions of the IMPACT Act. This proposed rule clarifies the regulatory text to note that not all OASIS data is required for the HH QRP. Finally, it would require that accrediting organization surveyors take CMS-provided training.

This proposed rule would remove the regulatory text that allows a state to make payments to third parties on behalf of an individual provider for benefits such as health insurance, skills training, and other benefits customary for employees. We are concerned that these provisions are overbroad, and insufficiently linked to the exceptions expressly permitted by the statute. As we noted in our prior rulemaking, section 1902(a)(32) of the Act provides for a number of exceptions to the direct payment requirement, but it does not authorize the agency to create new exceptions.