New HHS report points to busy home health regulatory agenda
By MATTHEW HAY
HHBR Washington Correspondent
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS; Washington) semiannual regulatory agenda says the proposed rule amending the Health Care Financing Administration’s (HCFA: Baltimore) surety bond regulation should be issued next month. The rule will require agencies to obtain a surety bond by Oct. 1, 2000. Earlier this year, the General Accounting Office recommended a single $50,000 bond for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs and an exemption for agencies, but HCFA argues these recommendations require further Congressional action
According to the report, a proposed rule implementing a surety bond requirement for Medicare suppliers of durable medical equipment (DME) will be published in March. That rule will require a surety bond of at least $50,000 before being issued a new provider number. The rule is designed to protect against bad debts by DME suppliers, as well as screen potential DME suppliers.
In addition to the final rule for the new prospective payment system (PPS) for home health agencies due out in July, the report says additional standards for DME suppliers are already overdue.
Long-term actions include revised conditions of participation for home health agencies, which have been largely unchanged since Medicare was enacted, as well as revised conditions of participation for hospice. A proposed rule updating hospice payment rates, clarifying the services covered under the benefit, and making other changes in the hospice benefit is also expected sometime next year.
Other final rules expected early in the year include a standardized provider identifier and standards for the security of health information and electronic signature, both required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
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