National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) releases its report, Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America questioning the nations hospice and palliative care providers and how they manage the short time frames of care for patients with serious and life-limiting illness nearing the end of life. The report addressed issues about how many terminally ill patients benefit from hospice care and services and for what period of time. According to the report based on 2015 results, just … [Read more...] about Facts and Figures Report Released on Hospice Care in America & Concerns for Patients
Health Care Providers See Millennials as Key to Nursing Shortage
Shortage of Nurses and nursing providers have increased as more of the population retires. Millennials, who fall between the birth years of 1982 to 2000 are the top age group that is becoming the largest group in the in-home care workforce. According to a new study published in the October edition of Health Affairs an average millennial is now 186% more likely to become a registered nurse (RN) compared to baby boomers who's generation are the ones most typically in the highest leadership … [Read more...] about Health Care Providers See Millennials as Key to Nursing Shortage
Procedural Requirements for Requesting Additional Medicaid Beds through an Exemption
Provider Letter 2017-30 Addressed to Nursing facilities. DADS reports that to qualify for a high occupancy rate exemption and receive an allocation of additional Medicaid beds when it has high occupancy rates, a NF must demonstrate that it has had an occupancy rate of at least 90 percent for nine of the 12 months prior to the application. A NF may not rely on data for any month before a previous increase. See the provider letter for more details. Medicaid Bed Allocation Requirements for high … [Read more...] about Procedural Requirements for Requesting Additional Medicaid Beds through an Exemption
HHSC Requires Providers to Immediately Redo all Nurse Aide Registry Status Searches
Provider Letter No. 17-24 All Providers who used the Nurse Aide Registry(NAR) from June 14, 2017, through August 3, 2017 are now required by HHSC to recheck the status searches due to an error by contractor Pearson Vue which placed ineligible nurse aides on “Active” status and mailed these ineligible individuals an invalid certificate. This error also caused 50 inaccurate event-based emails to be sent to 19 individual candidates. If a search result now shows that a nurse aide is not in … [Read more...] about HHSC Requires Providers to Immediately Redo all Nurse Aide Registry Status Searches
Billing for Preadmission Screening and Resident Review Assessments and Services
Information Letter No. 17-20 - Addressed to Nursing Facility Providers on how to bill for Therapies, Customized Manual Wheel Chairs (CMWC) and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) reimbursed through the Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) program at HHSC. Nursing facility providers must review the resident’s Medicaid Eligibility and Service Authorization Verification (MESAV) to verify a service authorization has beencreated and to determine which service code was used. Nursing facility … [Read more...] about Billing for Preadmission Screening and Resident Review Assessments and Services
Failure to Deliver PASRR Services – Level I Screening and Level II Evaluation Assessments
Provider Letter No. 17-15 - DAD'S latest provider letter addressing Nursing Facilities reports on clarification that the role of the nursing facility (NF) is to coordinate completion of the Level I screening and Level II evaluation assessments with appropriate entities. The letter reports:Nursing Facilities must comply with both state and federal requirements related to Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR). This includes coordinating with appropriate entities to ensure completion … [Read more...] about Failure to Deliver PASRR Services – Level I Screening and Level II Evaluation Assessments