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New CMS final notification rule requires case management organization

Case Management Weekly, March 21, 2007

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The most recent Medicare item to affect case managers is the "Notification of Hospital Discharge Appeal Rights" rule. The original proposed rule, titled "Notification Procedures for Hospital Discharges," was published on April 5, 2006, with the final rule published November 27, 2006, under the new name. The effective date of the new rule is July 1, 2007.

The name change is a reflection of how the notice has expanded to include not only wording regarding discharge planning, but also information about appeal rights, says Jackie Birmingham, RN, MS, CMAC, vice president of Curaspan, Inc.

The regulations outlined in the final rule will become effective on July 1, 2007 and include several significant procedural requirements:

§     Hospitals will be required to use a revised version of the Important Message (IM) from Medicare to communicate a beneficiary's discharge rights

§     Hospitals must issue the IM to the beneficiary within two days of admission and must obtain the signature of the beneficiary or his or her representative.

§     Hospitals must deliver a copy of the signed notice to the beneficiary prior to discharge but no more than two days before the discharge.

To read more about the final rule, click here.

Source: Case Management Monthly, April 2007

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