August 2016

CMS Announces Final Fiscal 2017 Payment & Policy Changes for Medicare Hospice Benefit (CMS-1652-F)

On July 29, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule outlining fiscal year (FY) 2017 Medicare payment rates and wage index and the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (QRP) for hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries. This final rule updates the hospice wage index, payment rates, and cap amount for FY 2017. In addition, this rule finalizes changes to the hospice quality reporting program, including the addition of two new quality measures. The final rule also describes a potential future enhanced data collection instrument, as well as plans to publicly display quality measures and other hospice data beginning in calendar year (CY) 2017. The final rule will publish in the Federal Register on August 5, 2016, and the rule becomes effective on October 1, 2016.

For more information, see http://www.cms.gov/Center/Provider-Type/Hospice-Center.html

The final rule is available on the Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection


	Bob Simione

Managing Principal Named to HHFMA Hall of Fame, Honored for Achievement by New Jersey Association

The Home Care & Hospice Financial Managers Association (HHFMA), an affiliate of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), has inducted Robert J. Simione, Managing Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, into its Hall of Fame - recognizing his 42 years of leadership, dedication and support of the nation's home care and hospice communities. The honor also salutes Bob's efforts to mentor young professionals toward expanded leadership in home care and hospice financial management, his service as HHFMA Advisory Board Chairman and NAHC Board Member during challenging times in health care reform, his years of service on the HHFMA Workgroup, and his championing of the ideals of home care and hospice. The honor was announced at the NAHC Financial Management Conference held in July at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, Las Vegas.

The Home Care & Hospice Association of New Jersey also honored Simione with the 2016 Martha Esposito Award for outstanding achievement and dedication to the industry. The award was presented at the Association's annual conference held at the Tropicana Casino & Resort, Atlantic City, in June.

Complimentary Webinar

September 8, 2016 from 3-4 PM Eastern

NOE Tracker: Find Errors, Track Penalties & Boost Your Hospice Profitability

Presenters: Rob Simione, Senior Manager, Simione Healthcare Consultants, and Ellie Robison, CEO, MedTranDirect

Is your hospice losing out on revenue due to NOE submission after the 5 day window? NOE Tracker is a first-of-its-kind software to help hospice organizations avoid thousands of dollars in lost monthly revenue. By automating the NOE submission process, hospices can avoid excessive data entry, create alerts when NOE have been RTPed, and create an audit trail for the appeals process. Hospices are also able to achieve an ROI on the tool in two months! Join us for this brief, informative look at this tool to help you speed up and improve accuracy, eliminate redundant data entry and maximize revenue.

Compliance Check: A Prescription for Agency Health in Today's Racing Regulatory Environment

In the world of healthcare compliance and risk, seatbelts are not optional given the fast track of ever-increasing scrutiny and government oversight of home health and hospice organizations.

Karen Bommelje, RN, BSN, HCS-D, CHC, Senior Manager, Simione Healthcare Consultants, recommends a three-point safety check to ensure your organizational "engine" is fine-tuned with a comprehensive compliance plan, a process to evaluate its effectiveness, and a way to ensure all members of your team understand how an effective compliance plan will assist in reducing your agency's risk. The healthcare compliance-certified nurse and seasoned leader became a national consultant in 2011 after 20 years of executive level positions in various home health and hospice organizations. Today, she counsels many agencies, providing relevant background and history on fraud and abuse, while supporting efforts to initiate and maintain effective compliance programs for post-acute providers.

According to Bommelje, an effective compliance culture does not scream "Here are the regulations, now follow them or else! Organizations who do this effectively do the right things for the right reasons to positively affect all aspects of their operation."


Kathleen Hessler

Director Earns Compliance & Privacy Certifications

Kathleen Hessler, RN, JD, Director, Simione Healthcare Consultants, has been Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) and Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) by the Compliance Certification Board. An active member of the Healthcare Compliance Association, Kathleen specializes in compliance and risk management with more than 30 years of experience providing nursing care, legal advice and consulting for acute and post-acute care, with a special emphasis on home health, hospice and skilled nursing facilities. Her various roles have included direct patient care nursing, in-house counsel, attorney, and consulting on compliance, risk, ethics and regulatory matters, including program development. A frequent national speaker, Kathleen has taught health care ethics for the University of New Mexico Honors Program and Webster University.

Join Us in Las Vegas for the 3rd Annual Sales Conference & Training

Viva Las Vegas! Simione Healthcare Consultants is pleased to announce a unique referral management opportunity for home care and hospice sales, marketing and business development professionals with its 3rd Annual Strategic Growth and Sales Leadership Conference. Leaders from all over the country will convene to network and learn best practices in referral management to grow their home care and hospice business in these ever changing times of reimbursement and budget cuts.

3rd Annual Strategic Growth & Sales Leadership Conference

September 20-21, 2016

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Registration Fee: $1,695 per person

Reserve your space with a $500 deposit

Discounted room rates apply

Day 1 - 9 AM to 5 PM with reception to follow

Day 2 - 9 AM to 4:30 PM

Agenda Highlights

Gap Analysis: What Is My Desired Future State & How Will I Get There?
Creating a Digital Marketing Strategy for Your Organization
Ethics & Compliance in Home Care & Hospice

Harnessing the Power of Market Data to Laser In On the Right Targets
STAR Ratings & Outcomes
What is the Value of Growth?
Selling to MCOs & ACOs

Cementing Your Place in the Post-Acute Continuum
Overcoming Barriers to Success: How to Operationalize Findings from Gap Analysis

Simione Sales Training

December 5-7, 2016

Springhill Suites, Las Vegas

Day 1: Pre-Bootcamp $495

Track 1: Simione Sales Management Workshop or

Track 2: Everything a Sales Professional needs to know about home health and hospice but didn't know where to ask.

Days 2 & 3: Square One Bootcamp $895

Complete Package: $1,195 (must specify which track for day one)

SIMIONE AT CONFERENCES & MEETINGS

July 31-Aug 4	Home Care Association of Florida Annual Conference, Renaissance Orlando @ SeaWorld, Orlando, FL
Aug 4	The New Mexico Association for Home Health & Hospice Care Summer Conference, Albuquerque, NM
Aug 29-31	Carolinas Center for Hospice & End of Life Care Annual Conference, Omni Hotel, Charlotte, NC
Sept 8	Home Care Association of New York State, Senior & Financial Managers Retreat, Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, NY
Sept 13-14	Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency, Columbus, OH
Sept 14	The Virginia Hospices & Palliative Care Leadership Forum, Charlottesville, VA
Sept 15-17	Nurse Next Door Annual Conference, Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel, Vancouver, BC
Sept 19-21	Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina Convention & Expo, Holiday Inn Resort, Wrightsville Beach, NC
Sept 20-21	The 3rd Annual Simione Strategic Growth & Sales Leadership Summit, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV (Register at simionetraining.com)
Sept 27	McKesson Users Conference, Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, TX

View Our Full Events Calendar

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THOUGHT LEADERS IN HOME CARE AND HOSPICE

Founded in 1966, Simione™ Healthcare Consultants provides comprehensive business solutions for home health and hospice in the areas of operations, compliance & risk, finance, sales & marketing, cost reporting, information technology, and mergers and acquisitions. Simione's experts and tools support performance improvement across the healthcare continuum, engaging agencies, hospitals and health networks to improve quality, reduce cost, and minimize risk for more effective delivery of patient care.

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