On February 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated resource documents regarding the requirements and notable information for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). The HQRP requires Medicare-certified hospices to report quality data for both the Hospice Item Set (HIS) and the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) in order to avoid a two percent penalty reduction to a hospice’s annual payment update.

CMS released an updated fact sheet detailing the Requirements for the Fiscal Year 2020 Reporting Period. As part of the requirements, hospices will need to collect and submit information for admissions and discharges that occur between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018. Additionally, hospices will need to collect data for CAHPS by utilizing a CMS-approved third-party vendor.

In addition to the updated fact sheet, CMS also released a HQRP Quarterly Update for the 4th Quarter of 2017. The quarterly update includes frequently asked questions regarding the HQRP program, general HQRP updates and events during the fourth quarter, and planned upcoming events for the first quarter of 2018, including a planned training on coding for HIS.

Hospices can find more information regarding HQRP requirements and best practices on CMS’ webpage. The HQRP requires continued reporting from hospices throughout the year, and hospices should review their documentation as well as CMS’ updated fact sheet to determine their compliance with the applicable requirements.