Good news for providers: The Public Health Emergency (PHE) is likely to last until the end of 2021, according to a Jan. 22 letter to governors from Norris Cochran, the acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. This means that several waivers providing a measure of relief to home health and hospice providers will remain in place for many more months.
These include the suspension of the physician face-to-face encounter for Medicare eligibility purposes. Home health and hospice both require such encounters at some point during the process, Bill Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, explained to McKnight’s Home Care Daily. During the pandemic, clinicians can conduct this visit remotely.
“If you are in isolation at home, how can you see a doctor?” Dombi said. “Allowing it by telehealth really relieves a roadblock to access to both of these [home health and hospice] benefits.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also has expanded the use of telehealth during the pandemic. Home health agencies can use telehealth — in addition to remote monitoring — to provide skilled services to patients.
In addition, CMS has made it easier for seniors to meet the homebound requirement. This helps to put home health agencies “in a confident position without someone saying we don’t think someone meets the homebound requirement,” Dombi said.
Still another waiver affecting home health and hospice temporarily stops the two-week on-site supervision of nursing aides.
