CMS Publishes Final Hospice Wage Index Rule - Many Provisions Included.

On Friday, August 2, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted the final FY2014 Hospice Wage Index rule.  This rule provides critically important information to providers on the following:

 1. Guidance on how hospices are to report multiple diagnoses on hospice claims
 2.Guidance on the discontinuation of the use of “debility” and “adult failure to thrive” as primary diagnoses
 3.Directives to MACs to begin the “Return to Provider” RTP process on and after October 1, 2014 for claims submitted with “debility” or “adult failure to thrive” as primary diagnoses
 4.Guidance on changes to coding for dementia diagnoses
 5.Guidance on changes in the requirements for hospice quality reporting, including discontinuation of data collection and reporting for the QAPI structural measure and NQF #0209
 6. Implementation of a Hospice Item Set (HIS) with seven National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed measures, beginning July 1, 2014
 7.Implementation of a Hospice Experience of Care Survey beginning January 1, 2015
 8.Update on hospice payment reform

NHPCO members will find a comprehensive Regulatory Alert posted online.