At the end of April, the latest installment of the Home Health Value Based Purchasing Interim Performance Reports (IPR) was released. This edition includes data calculations for the OASIS items through December 2023, providing a full year’s worth of data. However, the data for claims and the CAHPS Surveys only goes through September 30, 2023.
We expect another installment of the IPR reports in July or August. After that, we will receive the initial Preview Report for the entire year of 2023, which will include all measures from January through December 2023.
Once the initial Preview Report Annual Report is released, you need to immediately request a recalculation if you believe your numbers are incorrect. You must provide supporting documentation for your request, as recalculations are not granted based solely on the request. Submit your supporting information to challenge the scores, and you will receive a response accordingly.
They will also release a Preliminary Report showing the calculations, giving you another opportunity to request a recalculation. However, if you do not request a recalculation of the Preview Report, you will not be allowed to request one for the Preliminary Report.
We won’t receive the Final Report detailing the exact impact on payments until later in the year, likely around November or December. These final reports will indicate how your 2025 payments will be affected, ranging between -5% and +5%, though the calculations typically result in a range closer to -3.5% to +3.5%.
It is crucial to continuously monitor these reports and analyze the individual measures that need improvement as we progress through 2024. This ongoing effort is essential for improving your scores.
As we enter 2025, there will be significant changes to the Value-Based Purchasing measures. Notably, the GG items will become a key component in calculating the Discharge Function Score, which is based on these GG items. Many may not realize that the Measure Calculations are based on Start of Care to the algorithm-determined Discharge Status of the patient. Therefore, the Outcome Measure is calculated at discharge, and many patients discharged on or after January 1, 2025, may already be receiving services from a home health agency.
Therefore, it’s not wise to delay GG education for your field staff who complete OASIS. Starts of Care happening now, and especially those in the third and fourth quarters of 2024, can directly impact the Discharge Function Score. This is particularly important for patients whose Start of Care is in the fourth quarter, but are discharged on or after January 1, 2025. Therefore, make sure to provide GG education to your staff immediately. This will not only affect the 2024 baseline year but also influence your 2025 Outcome Measures.
Healthcare Provider Solutions can help educate your field staff with our OASIS-E 5-Part Training Series, OASIS Education, and more. Click here to see how HPS can help you take advantage of educating your staff early, so you don’t run into problems later.
Should you need help analyzing your Value-Based Purchasing Reports or need education on GG items for OASIS, please reach out to us.
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