(a) Basis. This subpart implements section 1895 of the Act, which provides for the implementation of a prospective payment system (PPS) for HHAs for portions of cost reporting periods occurring on or after October 1, 2000.

(b) Scope. This subpart sets forth the framework for the HHA PPS, including the methodology used for the development of the payment rates, associated adjustments, and related rules.

As used in this subpart—

Case-mix index means a scale that measures the relative difference in resource intensity among different groups in the clinical model.

Discipline means one of the six home health disciplines covered under the Medicare home health benefit (skilled nursing services, home health aide services, physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, speech- language pathology services, and medical social services).

Furnishing Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) using a disposable device means the device is paid separately (specified by the assigned CPT® code) and does not include payment for the professional services. The nursing and therapy services are to be included as part of the payment under the home health prospective payment system.

HHCAHPS stands for Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.

HH QRP stands for Home Health Quality Reporting Program.

Home health market basket index means an index that reflects changes over time in the prices of an appropriate mix of goods and services included in home health services.

Rural area means an area defined in § 412.64(b)(1)(ii)(C) of this chapter.

Urban area means an area defined in § 412.64(b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B) of this chapter.

(a) Method of payment. An HHA receives a national, standardized prospective payment amount for home health services previously paid on a reasonable cost basis (except the osteoporosis drug defined in section 1861(kk) of the Act) as of August 5, 1997. The national, standardized prospective payment is determined in accordance with § 484.215.

(b) Unit of payment—(1) Episodes before December 31, 2019. For episodes beginning on or before December 31, 2019, an HHA receives a unit of payment equal to a national, standardized prospective 60-day episode payment amount.

(2) Periods on or after January 1, 2020. For periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020, a HHA receives a unit of payment equal to a national, standardized prospective 30-day payment amount.

(c) OASIS data. A HHA must submit to CMS the OASIS data described at § 484.55(b) and (d) in order for CMS to administer the payment rate methodologies described in §§ 484.215, 484.220, 484. 230, 484.235, and 484.240.

(d) Payment adjustments. The national, standardized prospective payment amount represents payment in full for all costs associated with furnishing home health services and is subject to the following adjustments and additional payments:

(1) A low-utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) of a predetermined per-visit rate as specified in § 484.230.

(2) A partial payment adjustment as specified in § 484.235.

(3) An outlier payment as specified in § 484.240.

(e) Medical review. All payments under this system may be subject to a medical review adjustment reflecting the following:

(1) Beneficiary eligibility.

(2) Medical necessity determinations.

(3) Case-mix group assignment.

(f) Durable medical equipment (DME) and disposable devices. DME provided as a home health service as defined in section 1861(m) of the Act is paid the fee schedule amount. Separate payment is made for “furnishing NPWT using a disposable device,” as that term is defined in § 484.202, and is not included in the national, standardized prospective payment.

(g) Split percentage payments. Normally, there are two payments (initial and final) paid for an HH PPS unit of payment. The initial payment is made in response to a request for anticipated payment (RAP) as described in paragraph (h) of this section, and the residual final payment is made in response to the submission of a final claim. Split percentage payments are made in accordance with requirements at § 409.43(c) of this chapter.

(1) Split percentage payments for episodes beginning on or before December 31, 2019—(i) Initial and residual final payments for initial episodes on or before December 31, 2019. (A) The initial payment for initial episodes is paid to an HHA at 60 percent of the case-mix and wage-adjusted 60-day episode rate.

(B) The residual final payment for initial episodes is paid at 40 percent of the case-mix and wage-adjusted 60-day episode rate.

(ii) Initial and residual final payments for subsequent episodes before December 31, 2019. (A) The initial payment for subsequent episodes is paid to an HHA at 50 percent of the case-mix and wage-adjusted 60-day episode rate.

(B) The residual final payment for subsequent episodes is paid at 50 percent of the case-mix and wage-adjusted 60-day episode rate.

(2) Split percentage payments for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020—(i) HHAs certified for participation on or before December 31, 2018. (A) The initial payment for all 30-day periods is paid to an HHA at 20 percent of the case-mix and wage-adjusted 30-day payment rate.

(B) The residual final payment for all 30-day periods is paid at 80 percent of the case-mix and wage-adjusted 30-day payment rate.

(ii) HHAs certified for participation in Medicare on or after January 1, 2019. Split percentage payments are not made to HHAs that are certified for participation in Medicare effective on or after January 1, 2019. Newly enrolled HHAs must submit a request for anticipated payment, which is set at 0 percent, at the beginning of every 30-day period. An HHA that is certified for participation in Medicare effective on or after January 1, 2019 receives a single payment for a 30-day period of care after the final claim is submitted.

(3) Split percentage payments for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. All HHAs must submit a request for anticipated payment within 5 calendar days after the start of care date for initial 30-day periods and within 5 calendar days after the “from date” for each subsequent 30-day period of care, which is set at 0 percent at the beginning of every 30-day period. HHAs receive a single payment for a 30-day period of care after the final claim is submitted.

(4) Payments for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2022. All HHAs must submit a Notice of Admission (NOA) at the beginning of the initial 30-day period of care as described in paragraph (j) of this section. HHAs receive a single payment for a 30-day period of care after the final claim is submitted.

(h) Requests for anticipated payment (RAP) for 30-day periods of care starting on January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. (1) HHAs that are certified for participation in Medicare effective by December 31, 2018 submit requests for anticipated payment (RAPs) to request the initial split percentage payment as specified in paragraph (g) of this section. HHAs that are certified for participation in Medicare effective on or after January 1, 2019 are still required to submit RAPs although no split percentage payments are made in response to these RAP submissions. The HHA can submit a RAP when all of the following conditions are met:

(i) After the OASIS assessment required at § 484.55(b)(1) and (d) is complete, locked or export ready, or there is an agency-wide internal policy establishing the OASIS data is finalized for transmission to the national assessment system.

(ii) Once a physician or allowed practitioner's verbal orders for home care have been received and documented as required at §§ 484.60(b) and 409.43(d) of this chapter.

(iii) A plan of care has been established and sent to the physician or allowed practitioner as required at § 409.43(c) of this chapter.

(iv) The first service visit under that plan has been delivered.

(2) A RAP is based on the physician or allowed practitioner signature requirements in § 409.43(c) of this chapter and is not a Medicare claim for purposes of the Act (although it is a “claim” for purposes of Federal, civil, criminal, and administrative law enforcement authorities, including but not limited to the following:

(i) Civil Monetary Penalties Law (as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a(i)(2)).

(ii) The Civil False Claims Act (as defined in 31 U.S.C. 3729(c)).

(iii) The Criminal False Claims Act (18 U.S.C. 287)).

(iv) The RAP is canceled and recovered unless the claim is submitted within the greater of 60 days from the end date of the appropriate unit of payment, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section, or 60 days from the issuance of the RAP.

(3) CMS has the authority to reduce, disprove, or cancel a RAP in situations when protecting Medicare program integrity warrants this action.

(i) Submission of RAPs for CY 2021—(1) General. All HHAs must submit a RAP, which is to be paid at 0 percent, within 5 calendar days after the start of care and within 5 calendar days after the “from date” for each subsequent 30-day period of care.

(2) Criteria for RAP submission for CY 2021. The HHA shall submit RAPs only when all of the following conditions are met:

(i) Once physician or allowed practitioner's written or verbal orders that contain the services required for the initial visit have been received and documented as required at §§ 484.60(b) and 409.43(d) of this chapter.

(ii) The initial visit within the 60-day certification period must have been made and the individual admitted to home health care.

(3) Consequences of failure to submit a timely RAP. When a home health agency does not file the required RAP for its Medicare patients within 5 calendar days after the start of each 30-day period of care—

(i) Medicare does not pay for those days of home health services based on the “from date” on the claim to the date of filing of the RAP;

(ii) The wage and case-mix adjusted 30-day period payment amount is reduced by 1/30th for each day from the home health based on the “from date” on the claim until the date of filing of the RAP;

(iii) No LUPA payments are made that fall within the late period;

(iv) The payment reduction cannot exceed the total payment of the claim; and

(v)(A) The non-covered days are a provider liability; and

(B) The provider must not bill the beneficiary for the non-covered days.

(4) Exception to the consequences for filing the RAP late. (i) CMS may waive the consequences of failure to submit a timely-filed RAP specified in paragraph (i)(3) of this section.

(ii) CMS determines if a circumstance encountered by a home health agency is exceptional and qualifies for waiver of the consequence specified in paragraph (i)(3) of this section.

(iii) A home health agency must fully document and furnish any requested documentation to CMS for a determination of exception. An exceptional circumstance may be due to, but is not limited to the following:

(A) Fires, floods, earthquakes, or similar unusual events that inflict extensive damage to the home health agency's ability to operate.

(B) A CMS or Medicare contractor systems issue that is beyond the control of the home health agency.

(C) A newly Medicare-certified home health agency that is notified of that certification after the Medicare certification date, or which is awaiting its user ID from its Medicare contractor.

(D) Other situations determined by CMS to be beyond the control of the home health agency.

(j) Submission of Notice of Admission (NOA)—(1) For periods of care that begin on and after January 1, 2022. For all 30-day periods of care after January 1, 2022, all HHAs must submit a Notice of Admission (NOA) to their Medicare contractor within 5 calendar days after the start of care date. The NOA is a one-time submission to establish the home health period of care and covers contiguous 30-day periods of care until the individual is discharged from Medicare home health services.

(2) Criteria for NOA submission. In order to submit the NOA, the following criteria must be met:

(i) Once a physician or allowed practitioner's written or verbal orders that contains the services required for the initial visit have been received and documented as required at §§ 484.60(b) and 409.43(d) of this chapter.

(ii) The initial visit must have been made and the individual admitted to home health care.

(3) Consequences of failure to submit a timely Notice of Admission. When a home health agency does not file the required NOA for its Medicare patients within 5 calendar days after the start of care—

(i) Medicare does not pay for those days of home health services from the start date to the date of filing of the notice of admission;

(ii) The wage and case-mix adjusted 30-day period payment amount is reduced by 1/30th for each day from the home health start of care date until the date of filing of the NOA;

(iii) No LUPA payments are made that fall within the late NOA period;

(iv) The payment reduction cannot exceed the total payment of the claim; and

(v)(A) The non-covered days are a provider liability; and

(B) The provider must not bill the beneficiary for the non-covered days.

(4) Exception to the consequences for filing the NOA late. (i) CMS may waive the consequences of failure to submit a timely-filed NOA specified in paragraph (j)(3) of this section.

(ii) CMS determines if a circumstance encountered by a home health agency is exceptional and qualifies for waiver of the consequence specified in paragraph (j)(3) of this section.

(iii) A home health agency must fully document and furnish any requested documentation to CMS for a determination of exception. An exceptional circumstance may be due to, but is not limited to the following:

(A) Fires, floods, earthquakes, or similar unusual events that inflict extensive damage to the home health agency's ability to operate.

(B) A CMS or Medicare contractor systems issue that is beyond the control of the home health agency.

(C) A newly Medicare-certified home health agency that is notified of that certification after the Medicare certification date, or which is awaiting its user ID from its Medicare contractor.

(D) Other situations determined by CMS to be beyond the control of the home health agency.

(a) Determining an HHA's costs. In calculating the initial unadjusted national 60-day episode payment applicable for a service furnished by an HHA using data on the most recent available audited cost reports, CMS determines each HHA's costs by summing its allowable costs for the period. CMS determines the national mean cost per visit.

(b) Determining HHA utilization. In calculating the initial unadjusted national 60-day episode payment, CMS determines the national mean utilization for each of the six disciplines using home health claims data.

(c) Use of the market basket index. CMS uses the HHA market basket index to adjust the HHA cost data to reflect cost increases occurring between October 1, 1996 through September 30, 2001.

(d) Calculation of the unadjusted national average prospective payment amount for the 60-day episode. For episodes beginning on or before December 31, 2019, CMS calculates the unadjusted national 60-day episode payment in the following manner:

(1) By computing the mean national cost per visit.

(2) By computing the national mean utilization for each discipline.

(3) By multiplying the mean national cost per visit by the national mean utilization summed in the aggregate for the six disciplines.

(4) By adding to the amount derived in paragraph (d)(3) of this section, amounts for nonroutine medical supplies, an OASIS adjustment for estimated ongoing reporting costs, an OASIS adjustment for the one time implementation costs associated with assessment scheduling form changes and amounts for Part B therapies that could have been unbundled to Part B prior to October 1, 2000. The resulting amount is the unadjusted national 60-day episode rate.

(e) Standardization of the data for variation in area wage levels and case-mix. CMS standardizes—

(1) The cost data described in paragraph (a) of this section to remove the effects of geographic variation in wage levels and variation in case-mix;

(2) The cost data for geographic variation in wage levels using the hospital wage index; and

(3) The cost data for HHA variation in case-mix using the case-mix indices and other data that indicate HHA case-mix.

(f) For periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020, a national, standardized prospective 30-day payment rate applies. The national, standardized prospective 30-day payment rate is an amount determined by the Secretary, as subsequently adjusted in accordance with § 484.225.

CMS adjusts the national, standardized prospective payment rates as referenced in § 484.215 to account for the following:

(a) HHA case-mix using a case-mix index to explain the relative resource utilization of different patients. To address changes to the case-mix that are a result of changes in the coding or classification of different units of service that do not reflect real changes in case-mix, the national, standardized prospective payment rate will be adjusted downward as follows:

(1) For CY 2008, the adjustment is 2.75 percent.

(2) For CY 2009 and CY 2010, the adjustment is 2.75 percent in each year.

(3) For CY 2011, the adjustment is 3.79 percent.

(4) For CY 2012, the adjustment is 3.79 percent.

(5) For CY 2013, the adjustment is 1.32 percent.

(6) For CY 2016, CY 2017, and CY 2018, the adjustment is 0.97 percent in each year.

(b) Geographic differences in wage levels using an appropriate wage index based on the site of service of the beneficiary.

(c) Beginning on January 1, 2023, CMS applies a cap on decreases to the home health wage index such that the wage index applied to a geographic area is not less than 95 percent of the wage index applied to that geographic area in the prior calendar year. The 5-percent cap on negative wage index changes is implemented in a budget neutral manner through the use of wage index budget neutrality factors.

(a) CMS annually updates the unadjusted national, standardized prospective payment rate on a calendar year basis (in accordance with section 1895(b)(1)(B) of the Act).

(b) For 2007 and subsequent calendar years, in accordance with section 1895(b)(3)(B)(v) of the Act, in the case of a home health agency that does not submit home health quality data, as specified by the Secretary, the unadjusted national, standardized prospective rate is equal to the rate for the previous calendar year increased by the applicable home health market basket index amount minus 2 percentage points. Any reduction of the percentage change will apply only to the calendar year involved and will not be taken into account in computing the prospective payment amount for a subsequent calendar year.

(c) For CY 2020, the national, standardized prospective 30-day payment amount is an amount determined by the Secretary. CMS annually updates this amount on a calendar year basis in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(a) For episodes beginning on or before December 31, 2019, an episode with four or fewer visits is paid the national per-visit amount by discipline determined in accordance with § 484.215(a) and updated annually by the applicable market basket for each visit type, in accordance with § 484.225.

(1) The national per-visit amount is adjusted by the appropriate wage index based on the site of service of the beneficiary.

(2) An amount is added to the low-utilization payment adjustments for low-utilization episodes that occur as the beneficiary's only episode or initial episode in a sequence of adjacent episodes.

(3) For purposes of the home health PPS, a sequence of adjacent episodes for a beneficiary is a series of claims with no more than 60 days without home care between the end of one episode, which is the 60th day (except for episodes that have been PEP-adjusted), and the beginning of the next episode.

(b) For periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020, an HHA receives a national 30-day payment of a predetermined rate for home health services, unless CMS determines at the end of the 30-day period that the HHA furnished minimal services to a patient during the 30-day period.

(1) For each payment group used to case-mix adjust the 30-day payment rate, the 10th percentile value of total visits during a 30-day period of care is used to create payment group specific thresholds with a minimum threshold of at least 2 visits for each case-mix group.

(2) A 30-day period with a total number of visits less than the threshold is paid the national per-visit amount by discipline determined in accordance with § 484.215(a) and updated annually by the applicable market basket for each visit type, in accordance with § 484.225.

(3) The national per-visit amount is adjusted by the appropriate wage index based on the site of service for the beneficiary.

(c) An amount is added to low-utilization payment adjustments for low-utilization periods that occur as the beneficiary's only 30-day period or initial 30-day period in a sequence of adjacent periods of care. For purposes of the home health PPS, a sequence of adjacent periods of care for a beneficiary is a series of claims with no more than 60 days without home care between the end of one period, which is the 30th day (except for episodes that have been partial payment adjusted), and the beginning of the next episode.

(a) Partial episode payments (PEPs) for episodes beginning on or before December 31, 2019. (1) An HHA receives a national, standardized 60-day payment of a predetermined rate for home health services unless CMS determines an intervening event, defined as a beneficiary elected transfer or discharge with goals met or no expectation of return to home health and the beneficiary returned to home health during the 60-day episode, warrants a new 60-day episode for purposes of payment. A start of care OASIS assessment and physician or allowed practitioner certification of the new plan of care are required.

(2) The PEP adjustment does not apply in situations of transfers among HHAs of common ownership.

(i) Those situations are considered services provided under arrangement on behalf of the originating HHA by the receiving HHA with the common ownership interest for the balance of the 60-day episode.

(ii) The common ownership exception to the transfer PEP adjustment does not apply if the beneficiary moves to a different MSA or Non-MSA during the 60-day episode before the transfer to the receiving HHA.

(iii) The transferring HHA in situations of common ownership not only serves as a billing agent, but must also exercise professional responsibility over the arranged-for services in order for services provided under arrangements to be paid.

(3) If the intervening event warrants a new 60-day payment and a new physician or allowed practitioner certification and a new plan of care, the initial HHA receives a partial episode payment adjustment reflecting the length of time the patient remained under its care based on the first billable visit date through and including the last billable visit date. The PEP is calculated by determining the actual days served as a proportion of 60 multiplied by the initial 60-day payment amount.

(b) Partial payment adjustments for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020. (1) An HHA receives a national, standardized 30-day payment of a predetermined rate for home health services unless CMS determines an intervening event, defined as a beneficiary elected transfer or discharge with goals met or no expectation of return to home health and the beneficiary returned to home health during the 30-day period, warrants a new 30-day period for purposes of payment. A start of care OASIS assessment and certification of the new plan of care are required.

(2) The partial payment adjustment does not apply in situations of transfers among HHAs of common ownership.

(i) Those situations are considered services provided under arrangement on behalf of the originating HHA by the receiving HHA with the common ownership interest for the balance of the 30-day period.

(ii) The common ownership exception to the transfer partial payment adjustment does not apply if the beneficiary moves to a different MSA or Non-MSA during the 30-day period before the transfer to the receiving HHA.

(iii) The transferring HHA in situations of common ownership not only serves as a billing agent, but must also exercise professional responsibility over the arranged-for services in order for services provided under arrangements to be paid.

(3) If the intervening event warrants a new 30-day payment and a new physician or allowed practitioner certification and a new plan of care, the initial HHA receives a partial payment adjustment reflecting the length of time the patient remained under its care based on the first billable visit date through and including the last billable visit date. The partial payment is calculated by determining the actual days served as a proportion of 30 multiplied by the initial 30-day payment amount.

(a) For episodes beginning on or before December 31, 2019, an HHA receives an outlier payment for an episode whose estimated costs exceeds a threshold amount for each case-mix group. The outlier threshold for each case-mix group is the episode payment amount for that group, or the PEP adjustment amount for the episode, plus a fixed dollar loss amount that is the same for all case-mix groups.

(b) For periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020, an HHA receives an outlier payment for a 30-day period whose estimated cost exceeds a threshold amount for each case-mix group. The outlier threshold for each case-mix group is the 30-day payment amount for that group, or the partial payment adjustment amount for the 30-day period, plus a fixed dollar loss amount that is the same for all case-mix groups.

(c) The outlier payment is a proportion of the amount of imputed cost beyond the threshold.

(d) CMS imputes the cost for each claim by multiplying the national per-15 minute unit amount of each discipline by the number of 15 minute units in the discipline and computing the total imputed cost for all disciplines.

(a) Participation. Beginning January 1, 2007, an HHA must report Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP) data in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(b) Data submission. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, and for a program year, an HHA must submit all of the following to CMS:

(i) Data—

(A) Required under section 1895(b)(3)(B)(v)(II) of the Act, including HHCAHPS survey data; and

(B) On measures specified under sections 1899B(c)(1) and 1899B(d)(1) of the Act.

(ii) Standardized patient assessment data required under section 1899B(b)(1) of the Act.

(iii) For purposes of HHCAHPS survey data submission, the following additional requirements apply:

(A) Patient count. An HHA that has less than 60 eligible unique HHCAHPS patients must annually submit to CMS their total HHCAHPS patient count to CMS to be exempt from the HHCAHPS reporting requirements for a calendar year.

(B) Survey requirements. An HHA must contract with an approved, independent HHCAHPS survey vendor to administer the HHCAHPS on its behalf.

(C) CMS approval. CMS approves an HHCAHPS survey vendor if the applicant has been in business for a minimum of 3 years and has conducted surveys of individuals and samples for at least 2 years.

(1) For HHCAHPS, a “survey of individuals” is defined as the collection of data from at least 600 individuals selected by statistical sampling methods and the data collected are used for statistical purposes.

(2) All applicants that meet the requirements in this paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(C) are approved by CMS.

(D) Disapproval by CMS. No organization, firm, or business that owns, operates, or provides staffing for an HHA is permitted to administer its own HHCAHPS Survey or administer the survey on behalf of any other HHA in the capacity as an HHCAHPS survey vendor. Such organizations are not be approved by CMS as HHCAHPS survey vendors.

(E) Compliance with oversight activities. Approved HHCAHPS survey vendors must fully comply with all HHCAHPS oversight activities, including allowing CMS and its HHCAHPS program team to perform site visits at the vendors' company locations.

(2)(i) Data submission requirements. The data submitted under paragraph (b) of this section must be submitted in the form and manner, and at a time, specified by CMS.

(ii) Data completion thresholds. (A) A home health agency must meet or exceed the data submission threshold for each submission year (July 1 through June 30) set at 90 percent of all required OASIS or successor instrument records submitted through the CMS designated data submission systems.

(B) A home health agency must meet or exceed the data submission compliance threshold described in paragraph (b)(2)(ii)(A) of this section to avoid receiving a 2-percentage point reduction to its annual payment update for a given fiscal year described under § 484.225(b).

(3) Measure removal factors. CMS may remove a quality measure from the HH QRP based on one or more of the following factors:

(i) Measure performance among HHAs is so high and unvarying that meaningful distinctions in improvements in performance can no longer be made.

(ii) Performance or improvement on a measure does not result in better patient outcomes.

(iii) A measure does not align with current clinical guidelines or practice.

(iv) The availability of a more broadly applicable (across settings, populations, or conditions) measure for the particular topic.

(v) The availability of a measure that is more proximal in time to desired patient outcomes for the particular topic.

(vi) The availability of a measure that is more strongly associated with desired patient outcomes for the particular topic.

(vii) Collection or public reporting of a measure leads to negative unintended consequences other than patient harm.

(viii) The costs associated with a measure outweigh the benefit of its continued use in the program.

(c) Exceptions and extension requirements. (1) An HHA may request and CMS may grant exceptions or extensions to the reporting requirements under paragraph (b) of this section for one or more quarters, when there are certain extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the HHA.

(2) An HHA may request an exception or extension within 90 days of the date that the extraordinary circumstances occurred by sending an email to CMS HHAPU reconsiderations at [email protected] that contains all of the following information:

(i) HHA CMS Certification Number (CCN).

(ii) HHA Business Name.

(iii) HHA Business Address.

(iv) CEO or CEO-designated personnel contact information including name, title, telephone number, email address, and mailing address (the address must be a physical address, not a post office box).

(v) HHA's reason for requesting the exception or extension.

(vi) Evidence of the impact of extraordinary circumstances, including, but not limited to, photographs, newspaper, and other media articles.

(vii) Date when the HHA believes it will be able to again submit data under paragraph (b) of this section and a justification for the proposed date.

(3) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(4) of this section, CMS does not consider an exception or extension request unless the HHA requesting such exception or extension has complied fully with the requirements in this paragraph (c).

(4) CMS may grant exceptions or extensions to HHAs without a request if it determines that one or more of the following has occurred:

(i) An extraordinary circumstance, such as an act of nature, affects an entire region or locale.

(ii) A systemic problem with one of CMS's data collection systems directly affects the ability of an HHA to submit data under paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) Reconsiderations. (1)(i) HHAs that do not meet the quality reporting requirements under this section for a program year will receive a letter of noncompliance via the United States Postal Service and the CMS-designated data submission system.

(ii) An HHA may request reconsideration no later than 30 calendar days after the date identified on the letter of non-compliance.

(2) Reconsideration requests may be submitted to CMS by sending an email to CMS HHAPU reconsiderations at [email protected] containing all of the following information:

(i) HHA CCN.

(ii) HHA Business Name.

(iii) HHA Business Address.

(iv) CEO or CEO-designated personnel contact information including name, title, telephone number, email address, and mailing address (the address must be a physical address, not a post office box).

(v) CMS identified reason(s) for non-compliance as stated in the non-compliance letter.

(vi) Reason(s) for requesting reconsideration, including all supporting documentation.

(3) CMS does not consider a reconsideration request unless the HHA has complied fully with the submission requirements in paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) of this section.

(4) CMS makes a decision on the request for reconsideration and provide notice of the decision to the HHA via letter sent via the United States Postal Service.

(e) Appeals. An HHA that is dissatisfied with CMS' decision on a request for reconsideration submitted under paragraph (d) of this section may file an appeal with the Provider Reimbursement Review Board (PRRB) under 42 CFR part 405, subpart R.

An HHA must submit to CMS the OASIS data described at § 484.55(b) and (d) as is necessary for CMS to administer the payment rate methodologies described in §§ 484.215, 484.220, 484.230, 484.235, and 484.240.

An HHA is not entitled to judicial or administrative review under sections 1869 or 1878 of the Act, or otherwise, with regard to the establishment of the payment unit, including the national 60-day prospective episode payment rate, adjustments and outlier payments. An HHA is not entitled to the review regarding the establishment of the transition period, definition and application of the unit of payments, the computation of initial standard prospective payment amounts, the establishment of the adjustment for outliers, and the establishment of case-mix and area wage adjustment factors.

An additional payment is made to a home health agency in accordance with § 476.78 of this chapter for the costs of sending requested patient records to the QIO in electronic format, by facsimile, or by photocopying and mailing.