Federal News and Information National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) NHPCO shared the following HIPPA tool “The Covered Entity Decision Tool” from CMS. This questionnaire will assist an organization on whether they (or a person) are a covered entity under the Administrative Simplification provisions of HIPPA. The tool is here. NEW & UPDATED […]
Feature Story “Britain Ponders How to Discuss Death” The Washington Post reflects on the death of Queen Elizabeth and how Britons deal with grief and death. Britons, as they mourn the loss of their monarch, are “feeling a complex soup of emotions” says the article. Some people are calling bereavement counselors. And some find grief […]
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospice: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19 CMS released a corrected document on the COVID flexibilities for COVID. You can access that document here. UPDATED Resource Available: HQRP Acronym List This revised resource is an updated list of acronyms commonly used throughout HQRP training materials and presentations. Providers […]
Rocky Mountain PBS Explores the Colorado Death Industry On September 8, Rocky Mountain PBS aired “Colorado Voices: Dealing with Death,” exploring “the death care industry in Colorado.” The episode explores various after-life scenarios and examines why talking of death is so taboo. Though there are numerous beliefs and ideas about what happens when life ends, […]
Texas Register TITLE 22. EXAMINING BOARDS PART 11. TEXAS BOARD OF NURSING CHAPTER 213. PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE 22 TAC §213.28–The Board is proposing amendments to §213.28, relating to Licensure of Individuals with Criminal History. The amendments implement House Bill (HB) 1899, enacted by the 86th Texas Legislature, effective September 1, 2019. It added Subchapter B to the […]
CHAP Working to Bring Age-Friendly Health Systems Into Home-Based Care CHAP has received a part of a $2.3 million grant from The John A. Harford Foundation. The work of the grant is “to bring the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement to home- based care.” This “age-friendly framework is a patient-centered focus.” The program focuses on 4Ms–what […]
AAHPM Releases Implementation Guide for Palliative Care Measurement Policy Led by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, with subrecipients the RAND Corporation and the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care, the guidebook “Palliative Care Quality Measures” has been finalized. The work, which serves as an implementation guide for two specific quality measures […]
HOSPICE NOTES CMS issued “Hospice: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19,” a document that reviews the various flexibilities that have been available to hospice providers during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The document reminds providers how requirements will change when the PHE is over. Some items, such as the need for “continuing certain blanket waivers […]
The Texas and New Mexico Hospice Organization (TNMHO) was contacted by our members expressing concern over the amount of time it takes to get Medicaid hospice contracts processed and the lack of communication from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). Many of you have been waiting up to three years for your contract! […]
Federal News and Information Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Creating a Roadmap for the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) During the pandemic, CMS used a combination of emergency authority waivers, regulations, enforcement discretion, and sub-regulatory guidance to ensure access to care and give health care providers the flexibilities needed to […]