The pandemic affected nearly everything in hospice. But the latest update (May 26) to Medicare Compare's Hospice page (formerly Hospice Compare) is all pre-pandemic. The most recent information in the update period ends December 31, 2019. Remember how innocent we all were back then? Before forced isolation and PPE shortages?Scroll down to find the hospice link to compare hospice agencies. Once you're there, the functionality will feel more familiar. Oh, and notice the link to a list of HOSPICES THAT SUCCESSFULLY MET QRP REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR FY 2020 APU. The formatting is all new as well.
Check out how your hospice agency compares to others in your state, payment jurisdiction, and across the nation today at Care Compare.
Don't like how you compare? Call me or send me a message. I can help with that.
Stay well.
BethMay 2021 Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Update Now Available
The May 2021 update is now available on Care Compare, the streamlined redesign of eight former CMS healthcare compare tools on Medicare.gov, including Hospice Compare. We made several changes. First, data derived from the Post-Acute Care and Hospice Provider Utilization and Payment Public Use File (PUF) have been updated to include calendar year 2018 data. Furthermore, additional data elements from the PUF file have been added to inform users whether a hospice provided service to any Medicare Advantage patients, or patients with both Medicaid and Medicare coverage. Please visit the Public Reporting: Background and Announcements page to view a newly issued Fact Sheet and Question and Answer document. These resources provide an overview of the PUF information on hospices publicly reported by the HQRP.
In addition, Care Compare visitors can now use a new a link to the FY2021 Annual Payment Update Compliance File to identify hospices which have been compliant with HQRP requirements in their area. This file is already publicly available on the HQRP Requirements page. As an integral part of Care Compare, it will now be more accessible to consumers and thus help inform their decisions.
Finally, as of May 2021, we also updated the claims-based zip codes using CY 2019 Medicare claims data. This routine annual update ensures that the Care Compare search engine continues to provide accurate and up-to-date hospice information to consumers. Hospice Item Set zip code data continue to come from January-December 2019 Hospice Item Set records.
Please note that all Hospice Item Set and CAHPS measures remain frozen due to the temporary exemption to the HQRP data submission requirements in responding to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). For additional information on COVID-19 PHE data exemption, please see the Hospice COVID-19 Public Reporting Tip Sheet in the Downloads section of the HQRP Requirements and Best Practices webpage. For more information about public reporting, please see the Public Reporting: Key Dates for Providers webpage.