CMS Is Suspending Hospice Payments. Do You Know What Your Data Is Telling Them?

by bj@atxwebdesigns.com | Sep 8, 2026 | Audit & Compliance

CMS recently disclosed that its Fraud Defense Operations Center has suspended more than $23 million in Medicare payments to suspect hospice providers since January 1, 2026. I think we need to stop for a minute and talk about what “payment suspension” actually means,...

CMS Quietly Changed the New Hospice Telehealth Billing Instructions

by bj@atxwebdesigns.com | Sep 8, 2026 | Audit & Compliance

Beginning January 1, 2027, hospices will have a new claims-reporting requirement when the required recertification face-to-face encounter is completed using telecommunications technology. The basic requirement has been coming for a while, but CMS made an important...

Texas Hospice Alert: The Workplace Violence Prevention Deadline Has Passed. Here Is What Your Hospice Needs to Have in Place.

by bj@atxwebdesigns.com | Sep 8, 2026 | Audit & Compliance

Texas hospice leaders need to be aware of an important compliance change that became fully applicable to newly covered agencies on September 1, 2026. If your hospice is licensed in Texas as a Home and Community Support Services Agency and employs at least two...

Could a Medicare Enrollment Mistake Put Months of Hospice Payments at Risk?

by bj@atxwebdesigns.com | Sep 8, 2026 | Audit & Compliance

There is a Medicare enrollment proposal hiding inside the 2027 Home Health rule that I think every hospice owner needs to know about. Even though CMS included these changes in a Home Health rule, the proposed Medicare enrollment changes would apply to hospice...

CMS Reissued the November 2026 Hospice Provider Preview Reports. Even If You Already Reviewed Yours, Go Back and Look Again.

by bj@atxwebdesigns.com | Sep 8, 2026 | Audit & Compliance

If you already pulled and reviewed your November 2026 Hospice Provider Preview Report, you are not finished. CMS found an error in the previously issued reports and reissued corrected reports in iQIES on August 25, 2026. The problem involved incorrect reporting...

Can Poor Hospice Documentation Be Called Fraud?

by bj@atxwebdesigns.com | Sep 8, 2026 | Audit & Compliance

A new federal hospice fraud case should get every hospice owner’s attention, particularly because of what the government said about the medical records. The owner of Azure Hospice Care in California recently pleaded guilty to health care fraud involving...