A new Medicare home health law goes into effect on January 1st that affirms the role of the physician as the person who orders home health care based on personal examination of the patient. Effective in January, a physician who certifies a patient as eligible for Medicare home health services must see the patient. The law also allows the requirement to be satisfied if a non-physician practitioner (NPP) sees the patient, when the NPP is working for or in collaboration with the physician.
As part of the certification form itself, or as an addendum to it, the physician must document that the physician or NPP saw the patient, and document how the patient’s clinical condition supports a homebound status and need for skilled services. A more detailed announcement on this subject will be available within the next few days, on the home health agency website at: http://www.cms.gov/center/hha.asp, under the Spotlight section. Additional guidance will be available next week via a Special Edition article on our Medicare Learning Network website at: http://www.cms.gov/MLNGenInfo.
