Home Health Leaders Urge Additional Refinements to Patient Driven Groupings Model Before 2020 Implementation in Response to HHPPS Final Rule

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare – a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation’s seniors – today asserted that key refinements will need to be made to the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDMG) included in the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) Final Rule for 2019 released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Modifications will need to be made to ensure protections for Medicare patients and to assure a smoother transition to the new payment system before it is implemented in 2020.

While additional modifications are necessary, the Partnership is pleased to see the final rule implements key provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act on home health payment reform including the guardrails of budget neutrality for the new payment system. The Partnership is also pleased the final rule contains the inclusion of costs associated with telemonitoring and the provision for home health medical records in patient certification considerations of eligibility for the benefit, and better payment accuracy related to the Medication Management Teaching and Assessment (MMTA) clinical group.

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