3/11/2025 J6/JK Home Health POE Advisory Group Meeting

Meeting Minutes

Meeting Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

Member Attendees: Maria Abreu-Costa, Carla Alexander, Mildred Anderson, Kim Baker, Kim Bischel, Margret Carandang, Pat Conole, Nancy Grissom, Shelly King, Julie Lehmann, Christine Mahoney, Gunjan Manchanda, Susan Materra, JuliAnna Meyer, Nicholas Oliver, Colleen Pierro, Masha Rudakov, Mary Jane Ruppert, Beth Slepian, Ivy Stuart, Keliane Totten, Mecca Trueblood, Cindy Vanyi, Jamie Vargo-Warren

National Government Services Associates: Melissa Avery, Jessica Bewley-Smith, Emily Fox-Squairs, Christa Shipman

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I. Welcome

Christa Shipman, NGS

Christa started the meeting with a special welcome to all the new members joining. She reviewed some reminders for the virtual meeting and reminded everyone the purpose of the POE AG is to help us develop education and provide feedback from the provider perspective. This will enhance our educational offerings so the HHH Team can develop and deliver what is most helpful to our provider community.

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II. Website/NGSConnex Updates

Christa Shipman, NGS

There haven’t been any new website or NGSConnex updates affecting home health providers since November. As always, any suggestions members have to enhance the website or our provider portal can be sent to the HHH Team mailbox, NGSHHHPOE@elevancehealth.com.

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III. Completed and Upcoming Education

Christa Shipman, NGS

A demonstration was provided on how to access past and upcoming educational events through the website. Various completed educational events covered topics such as: PECOS, Medicare Secondary Payer, Provider Enrollment, and Home Health Billing. Upcoming education sessions include more Provider Enrollment offerings and several home health sessions. All providers (including HH POE AG members) are encouraged to participate in future webinars and trainings offered via YouTube and Podcasts.

The annual collaborative summit that was scheduled for October will not be in-person this year. Due to scheduling conflicts with the venue, there will instead be a virtual event planned. Due to the logistics of hosting a virtual event, this year we will collaborate with internal departments at NGS to offer a variety of topics. There will be no cost to attend.

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IV. Advisory Recommendations from 11/12/24

Christa Shipman, NGS

Christa reviewed the advisory recommendations and updates from the last meeting:

Article on correcting reason code 37253 updated and posted
Incarcerated and Unlawfully Present article added with rejection codes for each claim error
Expanded Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model article added explaining new value code ‘QV’ providers will start seeing on claims

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V. Education Review/Discussion

All

The members suggested the following topics for upcoming education:

Include more MSP webinars with specific topics, e.g., session about liability with scenarios, ESRD, in-depth billing scenarios
Session on responding to ADRs with focus on avoiding denials with documentation examples
Create various educational materials to handle situations involving MBI changes, including a podcast, article, or short webinar
Create a podcast or webinar that delves into the appeals process, particularly regarding long wait times at higher levels like ALJ, even though detailed specifics might be limited due to scope
Provide more education on identifying and preventing fraud within the Medicare Program.
- This has been partially integrated into new provider training, and a good suggestion for seasoned providers as well.
Offer session on the top denial reasons and how to avoid/correct denials similar to the current billing error education
Since the summit will be virtual this year, it would be helpful to do some breakout rooms and chat groups to facilitate networking

The members were given a follow-up assignment to email the NGSHHHPOE@elevancehealth.com mailbox with feedback about education to include: one liked aspect of past training, one area for improvement, and one new education topic suggestion.

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VI. Updates/Reminders/Open Floor

All

The next POE AG is scheduled for 6/10/2025 as an in-person meeting in Indianapolis; however, since NGS is currently on a travel hold, this meeting may be changed to a virtual meeting. Details will be shared closer to the meeting date.

Meeting adjourned

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Posted 3/27/2025