In a provider letter dated December 1, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) notified home health agencies seeking Medicare certification that DADS will no longer schedule initial Medicare certification surveys, per a directive by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
From the letter:
Background
Over the last five years, Texas has experienced unprecedented growth in the number of HHAs seeking certification. The five-state CMS Region 6 (Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana) has 27% of all certified HHAs in the United States, and Texas has twice as many certified HHAs as the remaining Region 6 states combined. During federal fiscal year (FFY) 2006, 313 new HHAs were certified in Texas compared to only 42 new HHAs certified in FFY 2000. As of October 9, 2006, there were 1,708 licensed and certified HHAs in Texas and pending applications for Medicare certification for 119 additional agencies.
You may download the four-page letter here.
