You may have forgotten about the upcoming Hospice Evaluation tool known as HEART. You’re not alone – HEART has been in the pipeline for years, with very few updates along the way. The first round of pilot testing was conducted in January 2018. However, CMS indefinitely delayed further testing phases to assure that concerns raised during the first round of testing were addressed.
Yesterday, CMS held a discussion on the current status and development of heart. If you missed it, you can download the slides from their presentation. Or, visit CMS’ dedicated page for HEART.
While we don’t know when HEART will be finalized – it has the potential to make compliance even more difficult than it already is. We encourage all providers to educate themselves on the proposed tool by visiting the links above, and to let CMS know about your concerns. CMS has an email address specifically to receive comments from the public. Reach out to them directly at HospiceAssessment@cms.hhs.gov