Home Health & Hospice Week
Tarheel State Hospice Downsizes Visiting Staff
Another hospice is laying off workers in the face of Medicare cuts and aggressive medical review. Gaston Hospice in Gastonia, N.C. is laying off nine of its 110 workers, reports the Gaston Gazette. The laid off employees are nurses and nursing assistants.
"Medicare has been disallowing more and more hospice stays for patients, making it difficult to receive reimbursement in many cases," Gaston Hospice Executive Director Richard Lahm told the Gazette. "Also, the federal budget sequestration that started in January of this year significantly reduces the reimbursements we receive."
The layoffs come after the hospice in-creased its inpatient beds from six to 13 at its Robin Johnson House facility, the newspaper notes.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
HHAs Protest Dropping 170 Diagnosis Codes From Case Mix
Targeted codes aren’t too acute for home care, experts insist. You may have a hard [...] - Diagnosis Coding:
Take These Codes Off The Chopping Block, HHAs Tell CMS
Codes slated for case mix removal are needed. Home health agencies are keeping their eyes [...] - Reimbursement:
Use These Clues To Understand Case Mix Code Changes
Demise of GERD comes as no surprise. While some of the 170 diagnosis codes CMS [...] - Appeals:
Rate Of Redeterminations Favoring HHAs Plummets
HHA appeals caseload nearly doubles from 2011 to 2012. While the number of redeterminations for [...] - Referrals:
Help Referral Sources Secure Transitional Care Pay
Tip: It’s not just for established patients. Your referring physicians may think new transitional care [...] - Industry Note:
Use Q Codes Correctly Or Join The Wave Of Returned Claims
Tip: Include only one Q code line per claim. The month after Medicare started requiring [...] - Industry Note:
Get This Medicare Notice Down Pat
Not sure which number to put at the top of your Notice of Medicare Non [...] - Industry Note:
Beware Hospital Therapy Billing Change
Watch out for changes to the therapy reimbursement requests you get from hospitals. The Centers [...] - Industry Note:
Tarheel State Hospice Downsizes Visiting Staff
Another hospice is laying off workers in the face of Medicare cuts and aggressive medical [...] - Industry Note:
VNAs To Merge To Create Efficiencies
Declining Medicare reimbursement is also leading agencies to consider consolidation. For example: The Rutland Area [...] - Industry Note:
HHA Ponies Up $50K For Excluded Employee
Be sure to check your staff against the OIG’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities, [...] - Industry Note:
Indicted Hospice Owner Bought 20 Luxury Cars
Federal prosecutors have asked the court for the power to seize 20 luxury cars from [...] - Industry Note:
Charting Dispute Sparks Wrongful Termination Suit
In a battle of he-said, she-said, your organization may lose even if it wins.
[...]
