May 1
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) sent an informational letter to long term care providers about what they can do to minimize claim rejections. Attached to the two-page letter is a two-page chart titled, “Common Reasons Claims Deny.†Download the letter and chart here.
May 7
All home and community-based services waiver program providers will be required to comply with the 2006 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 Life Safety Code, effective immediately. The relevant section:
The program provider must ensure that a residence in which four individuals live is in continuous compliance with applicable provisions concerning residential Board and Care Occupancies – Small Facilities of the edition of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, published by the National Fire Protection Association and most recently adopted by the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office as certified by the fire safety authority having jurisdiction for the location of the residence at the time the residence is approved by DADS and at least annually thereafter.
You may download the letter here.
May 8
DADS informed community based alternatives, home and community support services, community living assistance and support services, consumer managed personal assistance service, deaf blind and multiple disabilities, and primary home care agencies about updates to telephony usage.
Although many have used the service, some have questions. For example:
Question 1: How are service delivery hours calculated?
Answer: Service delivery hours are the equivalent of billable hours. Provider agencies must bill in quarter-hour increments, rounding down to the previous quarter hour if the actual time worked is seven minutes or less. As described above, telephony software must be capable of rounding to the nearest quarter hour. Therefore, if a service provider is scheduled to work a fixed schedule of three hours per day but actually works two hours and fifty-three minutes for a scheduled shift, the billable hours are three. However, if the provider worked two hours and fifty-two minutes, the billable hours are two and three-quarter hours. In this case, since the billable hours were less than the scheduled hours, the provider must document the reason for underserved hours. Provider agencies are also required to document service overages.
For more information, download the letter here.
