About the Event

801. Pre-Conference: Home Health Summer Camp 2022

A regular feature of the Financial Management Conference, industry rookies and veterans will benefit from the detailed understanding of the fundamental financial tools and operational strategies for developing and maintaining positive financial outcomes offered in the Summer Camp. This updated 2022 program is designed for beginner-to-intermediate level financial staff members who have some experience in home care financial management and who wish to expand their knowledge in the diverse world of home care finance.

Objectives:

• Current Medicare reimbursement issues faced by home health agencies.
• Essential benchmark data needed to manage a home health agency.
• How to integrate communications between financial and clinical staff.
• Using the Medicare cost report as a management resource tool.
• Medicare Advantage and Medicaid business impacts.
• Compliance responsibilities with payers and more.
• Establishing billing oversight processes.

802. Pre-Conference: Hospice Summer Camp 2022

Getting back to the basics has never been more important, as hospice continues to grow and mature as a health care program. This preconference provides an updated and thorough overview of the financial aspects of hospice, including discussion of emerging national economic and policy changes which will impact hospice operations, regulatory issues, and revenue-enhancing strategies. Hospice Summer Camp 2022 is designed for Intermediate-Advanced hospice executives seeking to sharpen the skills and knowledge needed to improve management hospice financial operations in this changing environment.

Objectives:

• Financial accounting for all hospice services including bereavement, physician services, volunteers, therapies including music, massage, pet, liaisons or community representatives.
• Hospice Cost Reporting.
• Compliance best practices.
• Hospice staff compensation, strategies for improved productivity and case capacity.
• Palliative Care Services and impact on Hospice Services.
• Current Medicare reimbursement issues faced by hospice
• Hospice cap calculation updates – how to monitor during the year.

803. Home Health Value-Based Purchasing: Going Nationwide

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated a nine-state demonstration program testing out the impact of a value-based purchasing program (HHVBP) in Medicare home health services. Now CMS is expanding the program nationwide, as its limited run has demonstrated great success for patients and Medicare spending.

HHVBP puts each home health agency in competition with all others in a zero-sum contest where there will be a balance of winners and losers with a financial impact of up to five percent.  It absolutely pays to be prepared for HHVBP.

This intensive learning session combines the data from the nine-state demonstration with an analysis of the new model with a full national competition and modified performance standards. This pre-conference will share the keys to success, mistakes, and lessons learned in the earlier model, demonstrating the pathways to improved patient outcomes, higher achievement scores, and a winning year in HHVBP.

The program covers the essential areas that providers must focus on for success. These include:  the HHVBP design and Structure Overview; Data Analysis; Clinical Services Management; Financial Operations Management; and Leadership Operations. These subject areas are combined with the insights gained by HHA executives who participated in the original demonstration project and expert consultants who help guide their success.

Objectives:

• Explain the structure and operations of HHVBP;
• Recognize the nature and value of data analytics in HHVBP;
• Identify the best practices in clinical services management to achieve positive performance outcomes within HHVBP measures;
• Identify the best practices in financial management to achieve positive under HHVBP; and
• Establish the elements of change management to successfully transition to HHVBP incentivized services and operations.

203. Medicare Advantage Coverage of Hospice Care: Opportunities, Risks and Insights

Under the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID), Hospice Benefit Component demonstration MA plans may – for the first time ever – include hospice care among their benefit offerings. The four-year demonstration program started in January 2021 and has grown in scope, but aspects of the model are changing over time, including the anticipated application of a new “network adequacy” standard beginning in 2023.  This session will provide insights into key elements of the model, how in- and out-of-network hospices are variably impacted, describe various hospice providers’ experience under the model, and identify key considerations related to contracting with MA plans as an in-network hospice provider.

Objectives:

• Identify key elements of the MA-VBID Hospice Benefit Component Model, including additional benefits offered.
• Discuss changes to the model over the years in which it has operated, including the network adequacy standard.
• Outline how the model variably impacts in- and out-of-network hospice providers, including opportunities for these hospices.
• Identify key considerations for hospices in making decisions around potential contracting with MA plans as an in-network provider of services.

203. Medicare Advantage Coverage of Hospice Care: Opportunities, Risks and Insights

Under the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID), Hospice Benefit Component demonstration MA plans may – for the first time ever – include hospice care among their benefit offerings. The four-year demonstration program started in January 2021 and has grown in scope, but aspects of the model are changing over time, including the anticipated application of a new “network adequacy” standard beginning in 2023.  This session will provide insights into key elements of the model, how in- and out-of-network hospices are variably impacted, describe various hospice providers’ experience under the model, and identify key considerations related to contracting with MA plans as an in-network hospice provider.

Objectives:

• Identify key elements of the MA-VBID Hospice Benefit Component Model, including additional benefits offered.
• Discuss changes to the model over the years in which it has operated, including the network adequacy standard.
• Outline how the model variably impacts in- and out-of-network hospice providers, including opportunities for these hospices.
• Identify key considerations for hospices in making decisions around potential contracting with MA plans as an in-network provider of services.