The ABILITY CAREWATCH PDPM calculator uses the payment for each component and is calculated by multiplying the case-mix index (CMI) that corresponds to the patient’s case-mix group (CMG) by the wage adjusted component base payment rate, then by the specific day in the variable per diem adjustment schedule when …
 What does PDPM mean for home health?
 
 The intent behind these administrative changes, commonly known as the
 
 Patient-Driven Payments Model
 
 (PDPM) for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) for home health care, is to improve the quality of patient care, promote the overall health and wellbeing of the Medicare …
 What is PDPM payment model?
 
 The Medicare Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is
 
 a major overhaul to the current skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS)
 
 . It is designed to address concerns that a payment system based on the volume of services provided creates inappropriate financial incentives.
 What is PDGM reimbursement?
 
 The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM)
 
 uses 30-day periods as a basis for payment
 
 . Figure 1 below provides an overview of how 30-day periods are categorized into 432 case-mix groups for the purposes of adjusting payment in the PDGM.
 What is Medicare PDGM?
 
 CMS finalized a new case-mix classification model, the
 
 Patient-Driven Groupings Model
 
 (PDGM), effective January 1, 2020. The PDGM relies more heavily on clinical characteristics, and other patient information to place home health periods of care into meaningful payment categories.
 How do you maximize PDPM?
 
- It starts at the front door. Smart choices upon admission will yield the best results. …
- Timely supportive documentation is key. …
- Make your Medicare meeting matter. …
- Triple Check for revenue success. …
- PDPM Prodigy, the best tool in your back pocket. …
- About the Author.
 How do you score a GG section?
 
 
 Each item is scored on a 1-6 scale, with 6 being the most independent and 1 being the most dependent
 
 . So, the higher the overall score, the more functional and mobile the patient is. Scores are primarily based on the level of assistance required. Activities may be completed with or without assistive devices.
 What is a PDPM score?
 
 The new PDPM Cognitive Score is
 
 based on the Cognitive Function Scale (CFS), which combines scores from the BIMS and CPS into one scale that can be used to compare cognitive function across all patients
 
 .
 Did PDPM replace rugs?
 
 What is PDPM? Patient-Driven Payment Model. The Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is the proposed new Medicare payment rule for skilled nursing facilities.
 
 It is intended to replace the current RUG-IV system
 
 with a completely new way of calculating reimbursement.
 How has PDPM changed the way in which long term care facilities are reimbursed?
 
 Specifically, PDPM
 
 adjusts Medicare payments based on each aspect of a resident’s care
 
 , most notably for nontherapy ancillary services (NTAS), which are items and services not related to the provision of therapy such as drugs and medical supplies, thereby more accurately addressing costs associated with medically …
 What is a Lupa rate?
 
 LUPA stands for
 
 Low Utilization Payment Adjustment
 
 . If you remember, one of the biggest changes in PDGM is around LUPA. Previously, agencies had to have more than 5 visits in an episode to avoid LUPA. It was fairly simple. PDGM changed the game on LUPAs and some agencies haven’t adjusted well.
 What is rug in MDS?
 
 
 Resource Utilization Groups
 
 , or RUGs, flow from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) and drive Medicare reimbursement to nursing homes under the Prospective Payment System (PPS).
 What is considered an interrupted stay under PDPM?
 
 A stay is considered interrupted
 
 when
 
 
 A resident leaves the facility and returns to that same SNF no later than the third calendar day after they left
 
 . The resident remains in the facility but is no longer under Medicare A coverage, and their Medicare A coverage needs to resume within three days.
 What is RUG-IV?
 
 What is Resource Utilization Groups (RUG-IV)? RUG-IV is
 
 a patient classification system for skilled nursing patients used by the federal government to determine reimbursement levels
 
 . This method is stemming from the SNF PPS FY2012 Final Rule and was previously RUG-III.
 Did PDGM replace PPS?
 
 
 The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) will dramatically change home health reimbursement beginning in January 2020
 
 . PDGM is the most significant change to Medicare’s payment methodology for home health services since the home health Prospective Payment System (PPS) was implemented nearly 20 years ago.
 What constitutes an early episode of home health under PDGM?
 
 What is an early episode in home health? According to CMS, In PDGM
 
 the first 30 day episode
 
 is early. All Subsequent periods in the sequence are classified as late until there is a gap of at least 60 days from discharge from one episode to the start of care for the next.
 How many episodes of care can an HHA be reimbursed for?
 
 The unit of payment has changed from 60-day episodes of care to
 
 30-day periods of care
 
 , and eliminates therapy thresholds for use in determining home health payment.
 What is a home health episode?
 
 The Part A home health benefit is paid in
 
 60-day episodes
 
 and includes speech-language pathology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, skilled nursing, home health aide, and/or medical social services. The agency is responsible for providing all of the services a patient requires.
 What is an early episode in home health?
 
 Early episode of care –
 
 First two 60-day episodes in a sequence of adjacent covered episodes
 
 . Late episode of care – Third episode and beyond in a sequence of adjacent covered episodes. Two period timing categories used for grouping a 30-day period of care.
 What is home health prospective payment?
 
The HH PPS allows for outlier payments to be made to providers, in addition to regular 60-day case-mix and wage-adjusted episode payments, for episodes with unusually large costs due to patient home health care needs. Outlier payments are made for episodes when the estimated costs exceed a threshold amount.
 What does concurrent treatment mean?
 
 
 A treatment that is given at the same time as another
 
 .
 How many PDPM codes are there?
 
 A lot has been made of the complexity of PDPM. We’ve all heard by now there are
 
 more than 28 thousand
 
 code combinations.
 How will PDPM affect therapy jobs?
 
 
 Therapists in SNFs will lose jobs or full-time jobs will go to part-time or PRN
 
 . Next, those SNF therapists will leave the SNF market and take jobs in other settings. Then, travel therapists will be less utilized not only in SNFs, but other settings as well.
 What are the 5 levels of assistance?
 
- Dependent: During dependent mobility, you are unable to help at all. …
- Maximal Assist: …
- Moderate Assist: …
- Minimal Assist: …
- Contact Guard Assist: …
- Stand-by Assist: …
- Independent:
 When should GG tab be completed?
 
 For an eval only that is completed
 
 at least 2 days after the facility admission
 
 , Rehab Optima will require an admission GG assessment and discharge GG assessment to be completed. For this situation enter dashes in all performance areas.
 Where is section GG used?
 
 Section GG is utilized
 
 across all post-acute care (PAC) settings by Medicare (CMS)
 
 . While Section GG is a standardized assessment, other assessments can and should be utilized during a comprehensive occupational therapy evaluation.
 
 