CMS Waivers

In a webinar presented by the National Association of Home and Hospice Care last week, Katie Wehri Director of Home Care & Hospice Regulatory Affairs at NAHC, warned hospices to examine their need to continue the use of the Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 waivers.  As you know, the CMS waivers were established to assist providers with the challenges presented by the PHE.  Although the declared emergency continues, at minimum until October, many hospices and home health agencies are recovering and, hopefully, returning to some sort of pre-PHE normalcy.  For those providers who continue to struggle, documentation must be made regarding their persistent use of the waivers.  For hospices, this would include the waived 12 hours of annual aide education, five percent use of volunteers, and annual testing of staff competency.  State surveyors are looking for evidence of why providers continue to utilize the waivers.  To avoid survey snags, either return to compliance with the regulations or ensure your documentation supports the continued and specific challenges of the COVID-19 PHE.