Compliance programs are often an area of confusion for home health and hospice agencies. A compliance program may be required, or it may be voluntary, dependent on organization requirements, and/or accrediting organization standards. For those that have a choice, many wonder, “Since it is required that we be compliant with Medicare and Medicaid regulations and other federal laws like the False Claims Act, why is a compliance program voluntary?” HCL has answered below several frequently asked ...
Are you ready for fall and winter? While most of us look forward to the change of seasons, agency owners know that fall and winter bring more weather-related emergencies that impact our business, employees, and patients. With the current hurricane activity impacting so many home care agencies in several states, weather is on everyone’s mind. It is a good time to review emergency preparedness plans for possible situations this upcoming season (weather and non-weather related). This is also a g...
Medicare and Medicaid Exclusion Lists (OIG and SAM checks). Some of the most frequent questions we receive at HCL involve checking Medicare and Medicaid exclusion lists. Agencies want to be compliant with both federal and state regulations, but often the resources for these areas can be somewhat confusing. In this post, we explain what these types of checks are and what is required of agencies. What are exclusion lists? Exclusion lists are databases that are maintained by either the federal o...
A QAPI program in home health, hospice, and personal attendant services (PAS) agencies is a systematic, data-driven method to identify indicators that reflect outcomes of care and quality of life for patients. It is a requirement for all certified Medicare agencies and for most state licensed agencies. Core elements include data collection, analysis and evaluation of the data, and identification of improvement areas. Staff engagement is key in identifying problems and implementing solutions t...