As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA), Congress enacted significant changes to the hospice survey process, including creation of a Special Focus Program (SFP) for poor performing hospice providers. In the CY 2022 home health final rule the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final rules governing the survey reforms but did not finalize the SFP, which will monitor hospices identified as poor performers based on selected quality indicators.
Hospices selected for the SFP will be under additional oversight in the form of surveys to enable continuous improvement and would include enforcement remedies for noncompliant hospice programs, as well as procedures for appealing determinations regarding these remedies. These enforcement actions can be imposed instead of, or in addition to, termination of the hospice program's participation from the Medicare program. CMS has indicated that a proposal for the SFP structure will be part of the CY 2024 home health proposed rule which is currently under review at the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and is usually posted in the Federal Register mid-summer.
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Tom Threlkeld
Director of Communications
National Association for Home Care & Hospice
Washington DC
(202) 547-7424
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