This Monday Minute with Melinda video clip is loaded with updates regarding sequestration, claims processing and the use of NPPs in Home Health.
Hello, everyone, and welcome to our Monday Minute. I have three things I would like to talk to you about today. The first being the 2% sequestration reduction. As many of you, I am sure heard last week, it was signed into law that the 2% sequestration reduction will not be applied to Medicare payments, at a minimum, through December 31, 2021. We are very excited about the fact that 2% of your payments have basically been restored to you through December 31 of this year. And we want to thank the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and state associations and any other players that were involved in the efforts to get this extension.
A couple of other things that I would like to mention – First is that there was an update to the Medicare MAC claims processing systems on April 5. As a result of that update, we have seen some claims being automatically reprocessed, especially in claims where there was a crossover in the start date from the end of 2020 in to 2021. Those claims are being reprocessed automatically by the Medicare MAC and appear to be reprocessing appropriately. There are so many other edits out there that we are still struggling to get clarity with, so do not be completely frustrated if that update did not fix your problem. Be patient. That is a joke, right? It is totally frustrating, and we get it. But there are some claims that are currently moving to be reprocessed from those edits, and we wanted to make sure that you knew that was in the process.
The next thing I want to quickly discuss with you a win in Tennessee last week, the governor signed into law, finally, a bill that now allows nonphysician practitioners to certify Medicare Home Health patients and sign orders. A huge win for the state of Tennessee! Some of you may be confused and perplexed by that comment. And that is because the federal regulation to allow nonphysician practitioners to permanently certify and sign orders for home health patients went into effect March 2020. But the caveat, that many of you might have missed, is that it is an absolute requirement that it be allowed in the state in which you are licensed, for you to be able to participate in that practice. We have found, as of late, there are numerous states that still do not have regulatory allowances for nonphysician practitioners to certify and sign orders for home health patients.
I am sharing this today as a victory, of course, in the state of Tennessee, but to also make sure you are fully aware that it must be allowed in your state for you to participate in that federal requirement, or I should say allowance. Understand that there are some states that are allowing it during the current Public Health Emergency, but there may be a point at which the public health emergency is declared ended and you would no longer be able to accept those orders. So, please make sure that you are confident and have the documentation to prove that it is allowed within your state if you are practicing allowing nurse practitioners, PAs, or certified nurse specialists to certify and sign orders for your home health patients. Thank you all for listening today. And as always, let us know if there is anything we can assist you with and continue to support the National and State Home Care and Hospice Associations.
If you need additional information feel free to give us a call or send us an email. HPS is always here to support you.
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