The Situation Report | April 1, 2024
As noted in the March 18 Situation Report, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted revisions to Home Health Agencies (HHA) – Appendix B of the State Operations Manual (SOM).
CMS stated that it was releasing interpretive guidelines and updates to Appendix B of the SOM, because several final rules have amended the HHA Conditions of Participation (CoPs). It has made conforming revisions to the regulatory tags and interpretive guidelines. CMS is also combining the HHA survey protocol and interpretive guidelines into one document, updating Level 1 tags, and making clarifications and technical corrections to other guidance areas based on stakeholder feedback.
Last week, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice held a webinar on these changes and included the following summary:
- No changes in regulations; changes in guidance only
- Includes survey protocols
- Combines G tags in several standards.
- Updates several standards to reflect regulatory amendments
- Adds survey procedures to multiple tags to assist surveyors in assessing compliance with the regulatory requirements.
- Eliminates level 2 standards
- Incorporates allowed practitioner where physician is stated
- Includes in several CoPs : The manner and degree of noncompliance identified in relation to the standard level tags for xxxxx may result in substantial noncompliance with this CoP, requiring citation at the condition level
- Incorporates guidance from other sources (e.g. Federal Register)
- Added three Emergency Preparedness tags to Level 1 standards
CMS is also updating the existing “Home Health Agency Basic Training” surveyor course on the Quality, Safety & Education Portal (QSEP). It anticipates that the revised surveyor training course will be available in early 2024. Currently, the training is available free of charge through the QSEP website here.
HCA is considering holding a webinar on these changes and will keep members updated on any future training.