What is a hospice PEPPER report?
Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPER) is a data analysis report that has been available for hospices since 2012. This report contains claims data statistics based upon UB-04 claims data submissions for a single hospice agency. The...
Understanding the PEPPER Report
The PEPPER report target areas focus on statistics that will identify potential for improper Medicare billing. Comparison to national, jurisdictional, and state percentiles can highlight a hospice agency’s potential need for change to its practices to guard against...
What is Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life (HVLDL)?
HVLDL is an HQRP claims-based measure of the proportion of patients who have received in-person visits from a registered nurse (RN) or a medical social worker (MSW) on at least two of the final three days of life. This metric replaces the HIS-based measure Hospice...
What is Hospice Care Index (HCI)?
HCI is a single comprehensive metric reflecting ten indicators of care delivered during a hospice stay -- from admission to discharge. This metric, which is included in the patient Care Compare portal, is intended to provide patients, families, and caregivers...
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...
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...