Subject: Federal Medicare Compliance Requirements for a Comprehensive Home Care Provider that is a Medicare-Certified Home Health Agency (HHA) and Operating Separate Entity . To provide care and obtain reimbursement from Medicare, the care must be provided by a Medicare certified agency. Medicare/Medicaid certification is not a requirement for conducting a home health service, but participation is an option for your agency. 5160-12-03 Medicare certified home health agencies: qualifications and requirements. Most hospices are Medicare-certified and licensed according to state requirements. Medicare-Certified Home Health Agencies: All of the licensing requirements that passed in the 2013 legislative session and updated in the 2014 legislative session, including the state licensure regulations that are considered equivalent to the federal requirements per Minnesota Statutes, section 144A.477, can be found in this document. Home Health Agency Requirements . Other practitioners, such as NPs and PAs, can order these services for Medicaid beneficiaries so long as they are ordered by the licensed practitioner in accordance with his/her state scope of practice laws. “Medicare pays for skilled services, such as nursing and therapy in the home, when there is a skilled need and the patient is homebound,” says the administrator of the Gurwin Certified Home Health Agency, Jeanmarie Kineiko, RN, BSN, in New York. HHA: means in this document a licensed Comprehensive Home Care Provider that is a Medicare-Certified Home Health Agency. The IFC also amends the state Medicaid home health regulations to permit licensed practitioners other than physicians to order home health services during the COVID-19 public health emergency. (A) A medicare certified home health agency ( MCHHA) that meets the requirements of this rule is eligible to participate in the Ohio medicaid program upon execution of a provider agreement in accordance with rule 5160-1- 17.2 of the Administrative Code. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contracts with the department to evaluate compliance with the federal home health regulations by conducting an initial federal certification survey and periodic, unannounced certification surveys of these agencies in addition to their state licensure surveys. You don't have to apply to the Department to open a home health business. Purpose: Certification means: The service is in compliance with the federal requirements 42 CFR Part 484.1-484.55 and is eligible to receive payment under the Medicare program. A home health agency is defined as a public agency, a private organization, or a subdivision of an agency or organization. The service must have a Home Health Agency (HHA) state license issued by the Department prior to being certified in the Medicare/Medicaid program. It’s critical that home health care organizations comply with the state and federal regulations where they operate, and keep their licenses current and in compliance with home care licensure rules.