CMS launches HAC and POA Web page

CMS announced today that it has launched a new hospital-acquired condition (HAC) and present on admission (POA) information section on the agency’s Web site, which can be found at: www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalAcqCond.

The site contains information on:

• The statute, regulations and program instructions
• Affected hospitals
• Reporting
• Coding
• Hospital-acquired conditions

Beginning with discharges on or after Oct. 1, 2007, hospitals could begin reporting POA indicators on claims, but the reporting is not required until Jan. 1, 2008. For discharges on or after Jan. 1, claims without the POA indicator or with an invalid POA indicator will be processed, but a remark code will appear on the remittance advice. For discharges on or after April 1, 2008, claims without a POA indicator or with an invalid POA indicator will be returned to the provider.

For discharges occurring on or after Oct. 1, 2008, hospitals will not receive additional payment for cases when selected conditions were not present on admission. That is, the case would be paid as though the secondary diagnosis was not present.