Wachler & Associates Health Law BlogCMS to Audit All Home Health Agencies
In response to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) titled Limited Compliance with Medicare’s Home Health Face-to-Face Documentation Requirements, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has decided to audit all home health agencies (“HHAs”) in the country. In its report, OIG detailed its findings stemming from a review of 644 home health face-to-face encounter documents that were analyzed to determine if they confirmed encounters and contained the required elements. OIG reported that 32 percent of home health claims that required face-to-face encounters did not meet Medicare requirements. OIG estimated that this resulted in $2 billion in inappropriate payments. After reviewing the study’s results, OIG recommended that CMS:
- Consider requiring a standardized form to ensure that physicians include all elements required for the face-to-face documentation;
- Develop a specific strategy to communicate directly with physicians about the face-to-face requirement; and
- Develop other oversight mechanisms for the face-to-face requirement.
At the end of the OIG report, CMS concurred with these three recommendations. In response, CMS reported that it is implementing an oversight plan of HHAs through the Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (“SMRC”), one of CMS’s newest tools meant to ensure program integrity. CMS stated that “the SMRC will perform approximately five document-only reviews for every HHA in the country to validate that the most recent/valid face-to-face encounter is in the medical record.” CMS reported that this will be a one-year, service-wide review of every HHA and CMS will provide further recommendations after reviewing the results.
Additionally, CMS has published proposed electronic and paper versions of its clinical documentation template to assist physicians in documenting their home health face-to-face encounters. Because it is the first time CMS has provided the healthcare industry templates for a progress note, it is soliciting comments on the templates. Those interested in the home health face-to-face proposed templates may participate in Special Open Door Forums occurring in March, April and May 2015. Should the templates be adopted, their use will be voluntary. CMS’s proposal for the templates comes at a time when HHAs are revising their policies and protocols for face-to-face encounter documentation in light of the elimination of the physician brief narrative requirement in most cases effective January 1, 2015.
HHAs should be aware of the imminent nationwide SMRC audit. It is important that HHAs develop an effective compliance program that provides proactive measures to educate staff and certifying physicians on documentation requirements and prepare for an audit. If you have any questions regarding CMS’s impending audit or need assistance in creating a compliance plan to meet the home health face-to-face encounter documentation requirements, please contact an experienced healthcare attorney via email at wapc@wachler.com or 248-544-0888.