Home Health Certification and Recertification Signatures

On May 7^th, CMS issued Change Request 12218 to clarify who is allowed to sign plans of care.  The January 1, 2021 benefit policy manual update erroneously included language limiting who was allowed to sign the plan of care when the certifying physician or certifying allowed practitioner (nurse practitioner, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists) is unavailable. CMS has corrected the manual to accurately reflect who may sign the plan of care and provide care to the patient in his/her absence.  The covering physician/allowed practitioner must be authorized to care for the patient by the certifying physician/allowed practitioner during his/her absence.  This also allows the covering professional to sign the plan of care.  The covering or designated professional is not required to be in the same group practice as the certifying physician/allowed practitioner as previously stated in the benefit policy manual.  The home health agency is required to ensure this authorization is in place prior to acceptance of orders signed by the covering physician/allowed practitioner.