PEPPER Resources
The Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPER) can be intimidating, but HCAW is here to point you in the right direction to better understand what these reports are for, how to read them, and what this information means for your agency.
What is PEPPER?
As per CMS, PEPPER is an electronic report that provides provider-specific Medicare data statistics for discharges/services vulnerable to improper payments. PEPPER cannot be used to identify the presence of payment errors, but it can be used as a guide for auditing and monitoring efforts to help providers identify and prevent payment errors. PEPPERs are sent to facilities such as Short-Term Hospitals, Long-Term Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Hospices, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, Partial Hospitalization Programs, Skilled Nursing Facilities, Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities, and Home Health Agencies. For more information on PEPPER, click here.
PEPPER Resources – pepperresources.org offers a wealth of information to help you and your agency
PEPPER Success Stories – learn from STs, HHAs, Hospices, and SNFs!
Additional Training
Visiting Nurses Association of America Webinar Recording: Understanding Your Home Health Agency’s PEPPER with Kimberly Hrehor, TMF Health Quality Institute
August 17, 2016
Visiting Nurses Association of America Webinar Recording: Understanding Your Hospice PEPPER with Kimberly Hrehor, TMF Health Quality Institute
September 28, 2016
PEPPER News
NAHC: New Home Health Agency PEPPER Available – login required
July 18, 2018
NAHC: Home Health, Hospice PEPPER Retreival Rates Approach 27%, 60%, Respectively – Annual Comparison Report Offers Insight into Key Risk Areas – login required
September 11, 2018