Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R J Simione.
All certified hospice providers are required to file cost reports for all cost-report periods beginning on or after April 1, 1999. In addition, if the hospice cost report is filed late and/or is incomplete, Hospice Medicare payments will be withheld from the provider. Thus, it is imperative that agencies understand how to prepare for and complete the report properly.
Questions of handling risk, cost reporting, and allocating resources must be answered before a home care agency can consider itself financially prepared. Careful planning will ensure a successful future.
Of the estimated 1,700 hospices in the United States, approximately half are Medicare-certified. In 1990 alone over 200 hospices have become Medicare-certified. Much of this recent growth can be attributed to both a need for hospice services and the 20% increase in hospice rates legislated by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. Medicare certification now presents an opportunity for financial success for hospices, non-participating hospices, and certified home health agencies.