Volume 2-2026 | March 2026 | |
You're receiving this email because of your relationship with the Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care. Thank you for your continued commitment to serving the citizens of our Commonwealth!
Cabinet for Health & Family Services
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
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Home Health Agency Newsletter
March 2026
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NOW AVAILABLE: HHQRP QM Users Manual 3.1 and the 2026 Risk Adjustment Technical Specification Report
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has HHQRP QM User’s Manual 3.1, HHQRP QM Manual 3.1 Change Table, and the 2026 Risk Adjustment Technical Specification Report. These documents provide updates to QM calculations and outline new steps for determining home health quality episodes. Please find both documents in the Downloads section on the Home Health QRP Quality Measures webpage.
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The final Guidance Manual for the OASIS-E2 version of the OASIS data set and OASIS-E2 Questions and Answers documents, effective April 1, 2026, are available in the Downloads section of the OASIS User Manuals page.
The OASIS-E2 Questions and Answers documents, are available on the Home Health Agency (HHA) Providers page in the Reference & Manuals section.
The final OASIS-E2 Instruments (All Items and Time Points versions) and OASIS-E2 Change Table, effective April 1, 2026, are available in the Downloads section of the OASIS Data Sets page.
| | As part of ongoing efforts to modernize and streamline data submission and assessment management, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is officially discontinuing the legacy Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) front-end user interface (data entry software for manually creating assessments) effective April 1, 2026. Home Health (HH) Associations will no longer be able to use this software to directly input assessment data for CMS. Future data will need to be uploaded in the correct format. For additional information and questions visit the Home Health Data Specifications page. | | |
Updated Quarterly OASIS Q&As
October 2025 OASIS Q&A's are available in the OASIS Quarterly Q&As section of the CMS QTSO HHA Reference and Manuals webpage.
CMS will not publish a Home Health Quarterly OASIS Q&A for January 2026 because no new helpdesk questions this quarter required broad dissemination. If you encounter uncertainties in coding or guidance interpretation that cannot be answered with existing published guidance, submit them to the Home Health Quality Help Desk (homehealthqualityquestions@cms.hhs.gov)—provider questions directly inform future clarifications and updates.
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OASIS Answers Home Health Training Webinars
The OASIS Answers, Inc. (OAI) home health training webinars are designed to provide the most innovative training to your clinicians, clinical leaders, quality improvement teams and auditors. These sessions will ensure that you are aware of and know how to apply the most recent, most relevant, and most accurate CMS home health information. Topics are based on the issues that are most pertinent to agencies and will be driven by CMS updates or changes that are critical to agency success. Check out the webinar topics listed HERE!
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Interested in Serving on an IDR Panel?
Kentucky requires one member of the IDR panel to be "a person currently engaged in the provision of Home Health Agency services who has no affiliation with the provider disputing a deficiency." Typically, a Home Health Agency Director is on each IDR panel. There is no payment or travel reimbursement for a Director serving on a panel. Directors will be rotated. If a Home Health Agency Director is interested in serving on a panel, a confidentiality statement must be signed prior to the participation in the first IDR panel.
Please complete the Confidentiality Agreement and submit via email, fax or mail to:
Jennifer Smith, RN
RAI/OASIS/IDR-IIDR Coordinator
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
275 E. Main St., 5E-A
Frankfort, KY 40621
Fax: (502) 564-6546
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Home Health Agency Questions and Answers
Home Health Agency (HHA) Providers can access the Home Health and OASIS Q&As and other reference manuals on the HHA Providers Reference site.
These questions and their responses have been developed over many years of experience training OASIS coordinators and are currently used as part of the Home Health Agency Surveyor Training program. They can and should be used by home health agency providers in training new staff on the basics of OASIS and also as a refresher for existing staff.
| | | | OASIS CONTACT INFORMATION | |
For questions regarding OASIS Assessment, Coding, Transmission or Technical Issues,
email KY OIG HC Support.
For questions regarding HHA Licensing or Regulations,
contact Rose Thompson via e-mail.
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Please note: Do not send any identifiable patient information through e-mail. This includes patient names, SSNs, dates of birth or any other data items considered identifiers or Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA. Please redact any PHI prior to sending.
| | OASIS DATA SPECIFICATIONS | The OASIS Data Submission Specifications Version 3.01.1 are now available in the downloads section of the OASIS Data Specifications website. | |  |
KARES
To enroll in KARES voluntarily, please click the icon above and follow the self-directed enrollment process.
For additional information about the program, please contact the help desk at (502) 564-2159 or via email.
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Click here to visit the website or click here for guidance on how to verify and update home health demographic data.
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Reporting Complaints
Email addresses have been established for use by patients and the general public to report possible violations of regulatory requirements. Click Here for the email addresses and additional contact information based on the facility's location.
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Which Branch
is Serving You?
To provide the highest level of service, the Division of Health Care operates through four regional offices. Knowing the appropriate Branch to contact with questions and concerns will ensure you receive maximum service in minimum time. Review links below for detailed information.
Regional Map
Contact Information
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Quality, Safety & Oversight Memos
CMS Survey and Certification memoranda, guidance, clarifications and instructions to State Survey Agencies and CMS Regional Offices.
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Medicare Learning Network
Let the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) be your home for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) education, information, and resources.
Visit the Medicare Learning Network for free educational materials for health care professionals on CMS programs, policies, and initiatives.
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Quality, Safety & Education Portal
CMS's QSEP provides the full curriculum of surveyor training and guidance on health care facility regulations. All training is available on-demand on a top-notch self-service portal. 24/7 access means you have the freedom to learn what you want, where you want, when you want.
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Sign Up for This Newsletter
If you have received a copy of this newsletter from a friend or co-worker, you can click on the Sign Up button to enter your information and join our mailing list.
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Employment Opportunities
To search and apply for positions within the Office of Inspector General, please visit the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet's web page by clicking the sign above.
| | Commonwealth of Kentucky | Office of Inspector General | 275 East Main St., Frankfort, KY 40621 | |
The Office of Inspector General is the regulatory and licensing agency for all health care, day care and long-term care facilities and child adoption/child-placing agencies in the commonwealth.
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