Changes to the Face-To-Face Encounter Policy

Section 3708 of the CARES Act (Pub. L. 116-136, March 27, 2020) amended sections 1814(a) and 1835(a) of the Act to allow Nurse Practitioners (NP)s, Certified Nurse Specialists (CNSs), and Physicians Assistants (PAs) (as those terms are defined in section 1861(aa) of the Act), to order and certify patients for eligibility under the Medicare HH benefit and establish a plan of care. CMS is finalizing a change to the face-to-face regulation to allow physicians, in addition to NPs, CNSs, and PAs to perform the face-to-face encounter regardless of whether they are the certifying practitioner or whether they cared for the patient in the acute or post-acute facility from which the patient was directly admitted to HH and who is different from the certifying practitioner. This change will align current regulations with the CARES Act language.

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Based in Chattanooga, TN, HealthCare Strategies (HCS) was founded in 1998 with the belief that high-quality software, consulting and outsourcing services could be provided within the budgetary constraints of most home health and hospice agencies. HCS provides a wide range of products and services to our partner-clients across the United States. Ask about our EMR software platform, HCS Connect™ today!

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