Method and Disposition of Certifications for Home Health

30.2 - Method and Disposition of Certifications for Home Health Services (Rev. 92, Issued: 04-22-15, Effective: 01-01-15, Implementation: 05-11-15) There is no requirement that the certification or recertification be entered on any specific form or handled in any specific way as long as the Medicare contractor can determine, where necessary, that the certification and recertification requirements are met. The certification by the physician must be retained by the HHA. The following instructions pertain to required documentation of the certification and recertification period. The HHA enters the month, day, year, e.g., MMDDYYYY that identifies the period covered by the physician's POC. The "From" date for the initial certification must match the start of care (SOC) date. The "through" date is up to and including the last day of the episode which is not the first day of the subsequent episode. The "through" date can be up to, but never exceed a total of 60 days that includes the SOC date plus 59 days. Example: Initial certification "From" date 10012000; Initial certification "through" date 11292000; Re-certification "From" date 11302000; Re-certification "through" date 01282001. NOTE: Services delivered on 11292000 are covered in the initial certification episode.