Special Announcement: CMS Delays Enforcement of Home HEalth Face-to-Face Requirement

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has agreed to delay enforcement of the home health face-to-face encounter requirement until April 1, 2011, though the January 1, 2011, implementation date remains in place. In November, CMS issued a final rule implementing the Affordable Care Act provision that requires face-to-face encounters between home healthcare patients and their physicians to initiate (SOC)Medicare coverage of home healthcare. CMS stated that while implementation of F2F would begin as planned on January 1, 2011, enforcement will not take place until after a three-month transition period. CMS has made it clear that the the three-month transition to enforcement of this face-to-face requirement will not be further extended.

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