Home Care Law Blog Gilliland & Markette LLP

3905 Vincennes Road
Suite 204
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Phone: (317) 704-2400
Fax: (317) 704-2410

Telemonitoring and HHABNs a clarification

Posted by: Robert Markette
August 22, 2006

Well, I have to change the answer I posted here yesterday about Telemonitoring.  Some of you may have read the e-mail NAHC sent out regarding Telemonitoring services and the use of an HHABN.  Under the original instructions and guidance, the telemonitoring service required an HHABN.  My discussion yesterday was based upon that original guidance.

However, after I received a copy of an e-mail from the National Association for Home Care (NAHC) I called Elizabeth Carmody to clarify the point.  (I must say thank you to Ms. Carmody, for taking a few minutes out of her busy day to call me back with some clarification.)  

CMS has changed its position on the use of HHABNs for telemonitoring in some circumstances.  For those of you who provide telemonitoring as a free service, there is no longer a need to provide the HHABN.  Under section 60.2 D of the new transmittal, if a service is never covered under Medicare and you are not going to charge the beneficiary for the service, no HHABN is necessary.  This means for telemonitoring, even if it is on the plan of care and integrated with the Medicare covered care, you do not need to issue an HHABN if you do not charge the beneficiary.   

However, that does not mean that all non-covered care does not require an HHABN.  If you serve dually eligible clients and the client will receive care reimbursed by Medicaid, you still need to issue an HHABN upon initiation of the care.  This is made clear in Section 60.2 D of the transmittal.  The point is that for dually eligible patients receiving Medicaid covered care or other care that is covered by insurance, but not by Medicare, the beneficiary must receive an HHABN upon initiation of care, but not for any other triggering events, until Medicare coverage again becomes an issue..




         

News

Health Care

[08/15] Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results
[08/15] Salmonella outbreak winds down; questions remain
[08/15] 6 get Legionnaires' disease in upstate NY; 1 dies
[08/15] NYC heroes lift bus off pregnant woman; baby saved
[08/15] NYC heroes lift bus off pregnant woman; baby saved
[08/15] Former half-ton man endures hard times in Nebraska
[08/15] AP Interview: Doctor behind executions speaks out
[08/14] University Hospitals Receives $22.6 Million Donation from Harrington and McLaughlin Families
[08/14] The National Kidney Foundation's 7th Annual Ronald D. Paul Companies Kidney Walk to be Held on Saturday, September 20
[08/14] Best Practice Database adds Research on New Product Launch
Read More

Web Resources

FindLaw
Thomson West
U.S. Courts
Westlaw
United States Chamber of Commerce
FirstGov
Legislative Branch
Library of Congress
White House
Internal Revenue Service
National Weather Service
Yahoo!Maps
YellowPages.com
New York Times
Newspapers Online
USA Today
Wall Street Journal
AOL
Google
Yahoo!Legal Blog Directory  

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

Copyright © 2008 by Home Care Law Blog Gilliland & Markette LLP. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.