January 13, 2021
By Angela Phillips, PT Looking Ahead in 2021: What IRFs Can Expect
IFR providers expect that the pandemic as well as new regulatory issues will impact their services. 2020 was certainly a historical year, punctuated by the COVID-19 pandemic and an overwhelming number of waivers and flexibilities for healthcare providers attempting to provide care amid chaos. Those same providers were also required…
February 20, 2020
By Juliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD, CHCQM-PHYADV Custodial Admissions from the ED: Major Issue Nationally
Health systems are grappling with custodial/social admissions from the ED. A specific quandary is playing out in emergency departments (EDs) all over the country, and no one seems to have a clear answer on how to address it. The situation? Patients presenting to EDs because they are unable to care…
January 30, 2020
By Chuck Buck News Alert: Widespread Recoupments of Incorrect Post-Acute Transfer Claims Have Begun
At issue: hospital overpayments of $54.4 million. There has been recent talk on an online user group that many hospitals have had recoupments of payment for inpatient admissions from 2016 to 2018 due to an “incorrect discharge status code.” This appears to be in response to a November 2019 audit…
January 16, 2020
By Ronald Hirsch, MD The Dilemma of the Discharge Planning Conditions of Participation
CMS is expected to release instructions and sub-regulatory guidance in 2020. It was way back in 2015 when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changes to the discharge planning conditions of participation. Their goal was noble; they understood that because discharge planning is a complex process, a…
November 29, 2019
By Chuck Buck News Alert: Day of Reckoning Has Arrived for Discharge Planning Conditions of Participation
Compliance is mandatory, but data from CMS remains unavailable at this time. The discharge planning day of reckoning is today, Black Friday, Nov. 29, 2019 – and yet, as of this reporting, the only source of data, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Compare website, still has no…
July 29, 2019
By Angela Phillips, PT IRFs Begin Final Countdown for Big Changes Ahead
We have been reminding inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), repeatedly of late, and now we’re down to the final two months before the transition away from utilizing Functional Independence Measures (FIMtm) to assign patients to a case-mix group (CMG) and toward using key quality indictor data – specifically, the GG Self-Care…
June 20, 2019
By Angela Phillips, PT IRF Count Down Continues: Part II
There’s an updated version of the IRF-PAI manual. As we prepare for changes in how inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) are paid through the utilization of quality indicator data rather than Functional Independence Measure (FIMTM) scores to classify patients into appropriate case-mix groups (CMGs), it’s important that IRFs provide the most…
December 21, 2018
By Angela Phillips, PT News Alert: CMS: Clarifies Counting of Student Therapy Minutes
IRFs can breathe easier; no change in policy. CMS has clarified the question of counting minutes of therapy provided by students. The Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) world reacted in shock to an unexpected statement made during a November Medicare Learning Network call wherein a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…
November 19, 2018
By Angela Phillips, PT News Alert: CMS May Disallow Counting of Student Therapy Minutes
A brewing problem, or simply an area for clarification for IRFs? During what was expected to be a plain vanilla review of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment Systems (IRF-PPS) Coverage Requirements and Updates from the FY 2019 Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made…
September 20, 2018
By Knicole C. Emanuel Esq. Medicare and Medicaid Regulations Suspended During Natural Disasters
CMS provides Medicare waivers for providers dealing with natural disasters. I live in North Carolina, and as most of you have seen on the news, we just underwent a natural disaster. Its name is Hurricane Florence. Our Governor has declared a state of emergency, and this declaration is extremely important…
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- Adam J. KleinAllen Jost, PhDAlvin Gore, MD, CHCQM and Cathi Charlberg, LVN, CHCQMAmanda Gilliland, RN, BSNAmber Soucy, MSN, RNAndrew B. Wachler, Esq.Andrew B. Wachler, Esq. and Emma E. TrivaxAndrew H. Hughes, MD and Charles Locke, MD, CHCQM-PHYADVAndrew Wachler and Kaitlin NucciAndrew Wachler, Esq., and Sarah Hillegonds, Esq.Angela Phillips, PTAspen AlbrightBarbara Vandegrift, RN, BSN, MABecky Rodrian, CPC, CEMC, CBCS, MBSBenjamin Kartchner MD, CHCQM-PhyAdvBrian T. LandryChristina Panos, RHIA, CTRChristopher Halleman, DOChristopher J. Laney, Esq.Chuck BuckClark AnthonyColleen Morley, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMCN, ACM-RNDaniel Zirkman, MDDavid A. McKenzie, CAEDavid Jury MD, MSDavid M. Glaser, Esq.Delilah Davis, RN, BSN, CCADenise Coleman, LPNDenise Nash, MD, CCS, CIMDheeraj Mahajan, MD, FACPDuane Abbey, PhD, CFPEdward Hu, MD and Charles Locke, MDEdward Roche, PhD, JDElizabeth C. Dunbar, MD, MBA, FACEP, CHCQM-PHYADVEllen Fink-Samnick MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRPEllen Parucka Walker LCSW ACSWErica E. Remer, MD, FACEP, CCDSErin Diesel Roumayah, Esq.Frank D. Cohen, MPA, MBBGlenn Krauss, RHIA, BBA, CCS, CCS-P, CPUR, CCDS, C-CDI, PCS, FCS, C-CDAMGloryanne Bryant, RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CCDSGreg FordHolly Louie, RN, BSN, CHBMEJ. Paul Spencer, CPC, COCJanelle Ali-Dinar, PhDJeffrey D. Lehrman DPM, FASPS, MAPWCAJessica Forster, Esq.John Foggle, MDJohn K. Hall, MD, JD, MBA, FCLM, FRCPCJulia K. Brodt, PhDJuliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD, CHCQM-PHYADVKaitlin Nucci Esq.Kathleen K. Borchard, BSN, RN-ACMKathy Seward, MD, CHCQM-PHYADVKim T. Charland, BA, RHIT, CCSKnicole C. Emanuel Esq.Kristi Pollard, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CIRCC, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainerLaurie M. Johnson, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS TrainerLeslie Marsh, RN, BS, MSN, MBALori O’Hara, MA, CCC-SLPMadison AllenMaggie Elehwany, JDMark SpiveyMarvin D Mitchell, RN, BSN, MBAMary Beth Pace, RN, BSN, MBA, ACM, CMACMary Inman, Esq. and Anne Hayes Hartman, Esq.Mary Inman, Esq. and Max Voldman, Esq.Matt Lambert, MDMatthew AlbrightMaureen Testoni Esq,Max Voldman, Esq.Melinda Battaile, MD, FHM, MMCI, CHCQM-PHYADV, CCDSMichael A. Salvatore, MD, FACPMichael KennedyMichael Rosen, Esq.Nancy J. Beckley, MB, MBA, CHCNena Scott, MSEd, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CCDSPhillip Angello, MDRalph Wuebker, MD, MBARichard “Dick” Beckley, YNS, USN, 1966-1970Robin Sewell, CDIP, CCS, CPC, CICRonald Hirsch, MDSarah Hillegonds, Esq.Sean M. Weiss, CEMA, CMCO, CPMA, CPC-P, CMPE, CMPM, CPC-PSean Weiss, CHC, CEMA, CMCO, CPMA, CPC-P, CMPE, CPC and David Glaser, Esq.Shannon Deconda, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CMSCS, CPMA®Stanley Nachimson, MSStefani Daniels, MSN, RN, CMAC, ACM and Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, ACMStefani Daniels, MSNA, ACM, CMAC
