Entry By: Eileen Bach, PT, M.Ed, DPT
Pasted below is a summary from an update from HCA of NY (www.hcanys.org). The timing of the required therapy reassessments (13th and 19th visits, 30 days) is important and based on the CMS response below, when the re-assessments are late, the visits from due date to actual are not only not covered but need to be reported as non-covered in the submitted claim. Another reason for those of us working in home health to be super-organized about visits!
Happy summertime! Eileen
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently responded to an inquiry from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) about requirements related to the reporting of non-covered billing visits on Medicare claims, specifically in the case of late therapy reassessments. The required re-assessment at the 13th and 19th visits and/or 30 days have prompted questions as to the reporting of covered and non-covered services on the claim. Such questions have specifically centered on billing for late therapy reassessments and other non-covered situations. Providers have asked if it would be acceptable to omit from a claim visits that were made prior to a late therapy reassessment visit, as it has been a longstanding practice to exclude such non-covered visits from home health claims. According to CMS, “Therapy would be covered again for the visit which occurs after the qualified therapist(s) completes all the assessment, objective measurement, and documentation requirements … Asking which visit to omit [from the claim] is asking the wrong question. No visits should be omitted. The visits that are not payable should be reported with non-covered charges and will be assigned provider liability. Reporting non-covered charges is required per the Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 10, Section 40.2.”
CMS further states that when providers do not meet reassessment requirements by visits 13 and 19, non-coverage will apply to visits starting on 14 and 20 (respectively) and non-coverage will continue up to and including the visit during which required reassessments were conducted. Coverage resumes on the visit following the final reassessment visit for each respective therapy threshold. (A similar policy applies when therapists do not reassess a patient by the 30th day, with resumption of coverage on the visit following the visit on which the required reassessment is conducted.)
CMS pointed out that its intent has been for home health agencies to include all non-covered visits and charges on claims to ensure a better representation of all home health costs. Therefore, the reporting of non-covered charges shouldn’t be limited to missed therapy reassessments. Home health agencies should include all non-covered visits and charges on their claims, such as for nursing assessments, aide supervisory visits, etc.