Medical Supplies

50.4.1 - Medical Supplies (Rev. 10438, Issued: 11-06-20, Effective: 03-01-20, Implementation: 01- 11-21) Medical supplies are items that, due to their therapeutic or diagnostic characteristics, are essential in enabling HHA personnel to conduct home visits or to carry out effectively the care the physician has ordered for the treatment or diagnosis of the patient's illness or injury. All supplies which would have been covered under the cost-based reimbursement system are bundled under home health PPS. Payment for the cost of supplies has been incorporated into the per visit and 30-day period payment rates. Supplies fit into two categories. They are classified as: • Routine - because they are used in small quantities for patients during the usual course of most home visits; or • Nonroutine - because they are needed to treat a patient's specific illness or injury in accordance with the physician or allowed practitioner's plan of care and meet further conditions discussed in more detail below. All HHAs are expected to separately identify in their records the cost of medical and surgical supplies that are not routinely furnished in conjunction with patient care visits and the use of which are directly identifiable to an individual patient.