• NEWS ALERT: Your local Medicare contractor (carrier, fiscal intermediary, or Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC)) is a valuable source of news and information regarding Medicare business in your specific practice location. Through their electronic mailing lists, your local contractor can quickly provide you with information pertinent to your geographic area, such as local coverage determinations, local provider education activities, etc. If you have not done so already, you should go to your local contractor website and sign up for their listserv or e-mailing list. Many contractors have links on their home page to take you to their registration page to subscribe to their listserv. If you do not see a link on the homepage, just search their site for "listserv" or "e-mail list" to find the registration page. If you do not know the Web address of your contractor's homepage, it is available at
  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/CallCenterTollNumDirectory.zip on the CMS website. (Posted: 3/3/2009)
• Notification of errors in Attachment D to Chapter 8 of the "OASIS Implementation Manual"
  First bullet in Section D (3) (b) of Attachment D contains an error. Currently, the first bullet in this section of the document incorrectly omits specific secondary diagnosis instruction. The correct wording is the following: "Ensure that the secondary diagnosis under consideration includes not only conditions actively addressed in the patient's plan of care but also any comorbidity affecting the patient's responsiveness to treatment and rehabilitative prognosis, even if the condition is not the focus of any home health treatment itself." (Posted 02/12/09)
• First sentence in Section D (3) of Attachment D contains an error. Currently, the first sentence in this section of the document omits the word "or" before the phrase "affect the treatment or care". The correct wording is the following: "Secondary diagnoses, or other diagnoses, are defined as all conditions that coexisted with the primary diagnosis at the time the plan of care was established, or which developed subsequently, or affect the treatment or care of the patient". (Posted 02/12/09)
• The revised FY 2009.0 (Posted 02/05/2009) - Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) PC Pricer is now available for download. (posted 02/05/09)
• Section D (4) (c) (3) of Attachment D contains an error. Currently, this section of the document incorrectly lists the Neuro 3-Stroke diagnosis group. The correct diagnosis group is Neuro 1-Brain Disorders and Paralysis. Case Scenario #4 also incorrectly assigns a diagnosis from the Neuro 3-Stroke diagnosis group. The correct diagnosis assignment in Scenario #4 should be from the Neuro 1- Brain Disorders and Paralysis diagnosis group. Revisions to the above section of Attachment D, to include revisions to the associated Case Scenario #4, will be posted in the near future. Questions related to Attachment D should be sent to: AskOasisAttachD@cms.hhs.gov. Attachment D" to Chapter 8 of the "OASIS Implementation Manual" is currently posted in the "Downloads" section of the "OASIS B1 User Manual website: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthQualityInits/14_HHQIOASISUserManual.asp.  (Posted 01/23/09)
• "Attachment D" to Chapter 8 of the "OASIS Implementation Manual" has been reissued to promote accurate selection and assignment of the patient's diagnosis on the current OASIS (OASIS B1 (1/2008).  This document clarifies CMS expectations specific to the assignment of diagnosis codes to the OASIS as dictated by the revised ICD-9-CM coding guidelines effective Oct. 2008 and the HH PPS refinements effective January, 2008.  Attachment D addresses the diagnoses items that pertain to the home health episode (i.e., M0230, M0240 and M0246) and is currently posted in the "Downloads" section of the "OASIS B1 User Manual website:  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthQualityInits/14_HHQIOASISUserManual.asp (posted 12/31/2008)
• CMS-1555-N [PDF, 173KB] or CMS-1555-N (508) : The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice to update the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) for calendar year (CY) 2009 ("Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update for Calendar Year 2009; Notice"). Medicare payments to home health agencies will increase by an estimated additional $30 million next year as a result of a 2.9 percent increase in the annual market basket update, a 2.75 percent reduction to the HH PPS rates (the 2nd year of a 4-year phased in reduction) to account for the changes in case-mix that are unrelated to patient's health status, and an updated 2009 wage index. (posted 10/31/08);  See Technical Corrections at CMS-1555-CN. (updated 2/19/09)

Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Spotlights
Go to the What's New page for the latest MLN products and announcements! Check it often!