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Notice of Publication of the Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update Final Rule for Calendar Year 2025
Information for Home Health AgenciesPosted November 7, 2024

The Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update Final Rule for Calendar Year 2025 was published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2024. The HH PPS CY2025 Final Rule is available on the HHCAHPS website at the link below.

HH PPS CY2025 Final Rule

If you have questions, contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

Home Health Care CAHPS Survey Vendor Update Webinar Training
Other AnnouncementsPosted November 1, 2024

The next Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey Vendor Update Webinar training session will take place on Thursday, January 30, 2025. The session will be held from Noon to 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Online registration to attend the HHCAHPS Survey Vendor Update Webinar training session will be available in early December. Please monitor this website for an announcement that registration is open.

Survey vendors who wish to retain their status as approved HHCAHPS Survey vendors must have their HHCAHPS Survey Administrator/Project Manager attend the session.
To allow us to accurately track registration attendance lines, please have each of your separately located staff complete their own registration.
We strongly encourage all key HHCAHPS staff, including sampling and data managers and key subcontractors, to attend the training.

Introduction to the Home Health Care CAHPS Survey Training: Self-Paced Format
Other AnnouncementsPosted November 1, 2024

The next annual Introduction to the Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey Training will be offered in a self-paced format beginning in January 2025.

We will continue to require that organizations register for this training online; registration will open in early December. Please monitor this website for an announcement that registration is open.

Survey vendors interested in becoming approved HHCAHPS Survey vendors must have their designated HHCAHPS Survey Administrator/Project Manager register for and review the self-paced introductory training and complete the training certification provided via email.
However, we strongly encourage all key HHCAHPS staff, including sampling and data managers and key subcontractors, to review the Introduction to HHCAHPS Survey training.
New staff from already-approved vendors are encouraged to review the Introductory Training slides to familiarize themselves with HHCAHPS protocols.

HHCAHPS Survey Applicant Vendor Requirements
Other AnnouncementsPosted November 1, 2024

This announcement is intended for organizations interested in applying to become approved HHCAHPS Survey vendors. Applicant vendors must complete the following tasks to be considered for approval:

Confirm your organization meets all HHCAHPS Survey Minimum Business Requirements linked here.
Designate a staff member as the HHCAHPS Survey Administrator/Project Manager. That person should:
- register for login credentials to gain access to the private side of the website,
- complete and submit the online Vendor Application Form and electronic consent form, both located on the Vendor Dashboard after logging in,
- register for and complete the 2025 Introduction to the HHCAHPS Survey self-paced training, and
- complete and pass the training certification available after training via an emailed link.
  NOTE: Other key vendor staff and subcontractors are also encouraged to complete this self-paced Introductory Training.
Agree to implement the HHCAHPS Survey using standardized protocols and procedures described in the HHCAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual located on the https://homehealthcahps.org website via the “Survey and Protocols” menu.
Complete and submit a Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) within 6 weeks after the vendor’s first quarterly HHCAHPS Survey data submission, and on an annual basis thereafter.
Attend all subsequent vendor Update Webinar Training sessions, if granted interim approval.

More information about the survey and the requirements for becoming an approved HHCAHPS Survey vendor are provided on the HHCAHPS Survey website at https://homehealthcahps.org/General-Information/Vendor-Application-Process. Vendors may also contact the Coordination Team at HHCAHPS@RTI.org or call toll-free 1‑866-354-0985.

Public Reporting Results Refreshed on Care Compare; Archived Publicly Reported Data Available on HHCAHPS Website
Public ReportingPosted October 23, 2024

Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey results based on responses from patients who received home health care from Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) from April 2023 through March 2024 are now reported on Medicare’s compare tool at https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/. HHCAHPS Survey results are updated each calendar year quarter.

These data are also available on the HHCAHPS website through the “Archived Publicly Reported Data” link under the “General Information” tab. On this webpage, you can access

HHA-level data,
state and national averages,
star ratings cut points,
patient mix adjustment coefficients for the linearized data used to construct the star ratings, and
patient mix adjustment factors (recently added).

As a reminder, information on how the star ratings were constructed is provided in these Technical Notes.

Click here for more information about how the data were analyzed and for the patient-mix adjustment factors that were used to statistically adjust the results that are currently being publicly reported on CMS’ Compare website. This document is also available on the Archived Publicly Reported Data webpage, where it will be historically saved.

CY2024 Quarter 2 Data Submission Deadline Reminder: One Week Left
Data SubmissionsPosted October 10, 2024

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, October 17, 2024. We are now one week away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 2 of calendar year 2024 (CY24,Q2).

We thank those HHCAHPS vendors who have already begun submitting CY24,Q2 data for their HHA clients. If you have not submitted any data for Quarter 2, we encourage you to begin submitting your files as soon as possible.

Important Points to Remember:

For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
Data files must pass both the initial validation checks and the secondary validation checks.
To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on October 17, 2024, you must submit all Quarter 2 files on or before Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.

Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

Please feel free to contact us via email or through the toll-free number if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

CY2024 Qtr. 2 Data Submission Deadline Reminder
Data SubmissionsPosted October 3, 2024

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, October 17, 2024. We are now approximately 2 weeks away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 2 of calendar year 2024 (CY24,Q2).

Important Points to Remember:

For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
Data files must pass both the initial validation checks and the secondary validation checks.
To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on October 17, 2024, you must submit all Quarter 2 files on or before Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

Please feel free to contact us via email or through the toll-free number if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

HHCAHPS Coordination Team Quarterly Review (CTQR) Newsletter – October 2024 Edition
Other AnnouncementsPosted October 1, 2024

The next issue of the HHCAHPS Coordination Team Quarterly Review (CTQR) newsletter has been posted. This edition provides information about HHCAHPS to home health agencies and survey vendors.

This quarter’s issue includes:

Reminders for HHCAHPS Survey vendors; what’s new on the website, and data submission reminder.
HHCAHPS national-level response rates by survey mode for CY2024,Q1.
Fun facts about CY2023 publicly reported HHCAHPS Survey state data.

CTQR newsletters are posted on the HHCAHPS website and updated quarterly. You can navigate to the October 2024 newsletter located under the General Information tab on the HHCAHPS website or click this link: CTQR Newsletter – October 2024.

The CTQR does not replace any source of information currently on the HHCAHPS website; instead, it highlights important information for readers each quarter. We encourage you to visit the HHCAHPS website for more information on the items mentioned in this newsletter.

CY2024 Qtr. 2 Data Submission Deadline Reminder
Data SubmissionsPosted September 19, 2024

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, October 17, 2024. We are now approximately 4 weeks away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 2 of calendar year 2024 (CY24,Q2).

Important Points to Remember:

For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
Data files must pass both the initial and secondary validation checks.
To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on October 17, 2024, you must submit all your Quarter 2 files on or before Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all of your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

Please feel free to contact us via email or through the toll-free number if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

HHCAHPS Preview Reports with Star Ratings Available
Information for Home Health AgenciesPosted September 19, 2024

The purpose of this announcement is to alert home health agencies (HHAs) that Preview Reports reflecting results from the Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey from April 2023 through March 2024 (Q2,2023-Q1,2024) are now available on https://homehealthcahps.org via the "Survey Preview Report” link under the “For HHAs” tab. HHA users must be logged into the website to view their report. These same data will be updated on Medicare’s compare tool on https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/ in late October 2024.

The Preview Reports present the publicly reported results, which also include star ratings for those agencies with data for 40 or more patient surveys in the 4-quarter reporting period.

For more information about the Preview Reports, please refer to this document on the HHCAHPS website: Understanding the HHCAHPS Survey Preview Reports

For more information about HHCAHPS star ratings, including Frequently Asked Questions, please click here: Star Ratings Information

If you have any questions about the HHCAHPS star ratings or your HHCAHPS Preview Report, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

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