Home health pre-claim review demonstration kicks off in Illinois

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week launched its Pre-Claim Review Demonstration for Home Health Services in Illinois, the first of five states that will participate in the three-year demonstration announced in June. In an effort to address a high documentation error rate and other concerns, the demonstration will require home health agencies in the target states to submit documentation supporting each Medicare fee-for-service claim to their Medicare Administrative Contractor for review and approval before submitting a claim for payment. The Illinois demonstration applies to services initiated on or after Aug. 3. In addition to Illinois, the demonstration is expected to start no earlier than Oct. 1 in Florida, Dec. 1 in Texas, and Jan. 1 in Michigan and Massachusetts.