Must every hospice participate in the CAHPS hospice survey?
What is the CAHPS hospice survey? The CAHPS hospice survey is administered to eligible caregivers after a patient’s death to measure the quality of care and communication provided by the hospice. A hospice agency must participate in the CAHPS Hospice Survey to be...
Selecting a CAHPS Hospice Survey Vendor
Why should a hospice agency use a CAHPS Hospice Survey vendor? A hospice agency is not permitted to administer its own CAHPS Hospice Surveys. Instead, every hospice agency is required to contract with an approved CAHPS Hospice Survey vendor. The vendor will administer...
How to recruit and retain hospice volunteers
What is a hospice volunteer? Hospice volunteers are key contributors to a hospice agency. The hospice movement was started with volunteers and there are now more than 460,000 volunteers nationwide. To retain the initial spirit of hospice, Medicare requires...
Calculating the volunteer cost savings match
What are hospice volunteers? The hospice movement was started by volunteers and there are currently more than 460,000 hospice volunteers nationwide. To retain the volunteer-based essence of hospice, one of the Medicare conditions of participation requires that...
What is a hospice’s volunteer requirement?
Volunteers are an essential components of hospice. The hospice movement was started by volunteers. There are currently more than 460,000 hospice volunteers nationwide. Volunteers provide administrative support or direct patient care services. Are hospices required to...
Tips for avoiding hospice election form denials
What is a hospice election statement? A hospice election statement is a condition of payment under Medicare. For a patient to be eligible to receive hospice services under the Medicare benefit, the patient or the patient's authorized representative must elect hospice...
What is the Hospice Election Statement requirement?
To receive hospice services under the Medicare benefit, a patient or his authorized representative must elect hospice care. If the patient or authorized representative elects to receive hospice care, the patient must file an election statement with a specific...
Medicare Credit Balance Report
What is Medicare credit balance? A Medicare credit balance represents a Medicare overpayment to a provider due to patient billing error or claims processing error that must be refunded to Medicare. The report is referred to as a Credit Balance Report...
Untimely NOE: Requesting an Exception
Hospice Acronym Alphabet Soup
Are you confused by the Acronym Alphabet Soup? Does the never ending list of acronyms used in the hospice and healthcare industry leave you confused? Are you worried that you may confuse CMN with CMP? To help sort out the confusion, we add here links to lists of...