Which year did CMS replace 60-day episodes with 30-day payment periods under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), and what rationale did the final rule cite for the shift? I’m compiling a concise timeline of home health policy changes and want to sanity-check the details.
2020 — PDGM kicked in Jan 1, replacing 60-day episodes with 30-day payment periods… The CY 2019 HH PPS final rule said the shift was to align payment with patient characteristics/resource use and to “remove therapy volume as a payment factor,” with the 30-day unit mandated by the BBA of 2018; see https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cy-2019-home-health-prospective-payment-system-rate-update-and-regulatory-provisions-patient-driven. If you’re building that timeline, tag the BBA 2018 citation so no one nitpicks later, @OP.
Agree with @angelaW45 on soaking; a quick hack that saved me is a tiny aluminum-tape “tent” over the 0402 cluster next to heavy ground pads to blunt peak overshoot, then peel for cooldown — helps keep ramp under about 3°C/s. Caveat: the adhesive can mark soft solder mask, so test on scrap first.
Went live Jan 1, 2020; the late‑2018 final rule said the shorter payment period was to “align payment with patient characteristics” and curb therapy‑volume incentives. @jcrawford92 source: Page Not Found | GovInfo.
For your timeline: PDGM took effect 1/1/2020, replacing the old two‑month episode payments with one‑month payment periods to tie reimbursement to clinical/comorbidity profiles and dampen therapy‑volume incentives. Small caveat that tripped folks up (): the cert/plan‑of‑care cycle stayed 60 days even though payment shifted. Source if you need it: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cy-2019-home-health-prospective-payment-system-rate-update-and-cy-2020-case-mix-adjustment-methodology-implementation.
2020; CMS aimed for timelier acuity alignment; they also scrapped therapy thresholds. Federal Register :: Air Plan Approval; Illinois; NAAQS Update.
PDGM kicked in Jan 1, 2020; the final rule said shifting to 30-day periods would be “more responsive to changes in patient condition” and curb visit-count distortion. From experience, a quick day-25 check helps avoid surprise LUPAs in each payment period; if you need a citation, here’s the FR entry: Federal Register :: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2019 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update and CY 2020 Case-Mix Adjustment Methodology Refinements; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model; Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements; Home Infusion Therapy Requirements; and Training Requirements for Surveyors of National Accrediting Organizations.