J15
CGS, Jurisdiction 15
CGS is the home health and hospice contractor for Jurisdiction 15: CO, DE, IA, KS, MD, MO, MT, NE, ND, SD, PA, UT, VA, WV, WY and DC.
Official pages: CGS home health and hospice news
Recent J15 bulletins
| Date | Contractor | States | Benefit | What changed | Primary source | Our coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-06 | CGS J15 | J15 states | Both | 2027 amount in controversy: ALJ hearing stays $200; federal district court review rises from $1,960 to $2,000 for requests filed on or after Jan 1, 2027 | cgsmedicare.com/hhh/pubs/news/2026/10/news-21244 | |
| 2026-10-02 | CGS J15 | J15 states | Hospice | Mandatory hospice election statement addendum for elections on or after Oct 1, 2026 (91 FR 49118); MACs won't deny claims solely for a missing or incomplete addendum for elections Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | cgsmedicare.com/hhh/pubs/news/2026/10/news-21221 | |
| 2026-10-01 | CGS J15 | J15 states | Both | About 2,700 DDE and PPTN users missed the Sept 30 recertification deadline; CGS extended it to Oct 31, 2026 | cgsmedicare.com/hhh/pubs/news/2026/10/news-21204 | |
| 2026-09-30 | CGS J15 | J15 states | Hospice | CMS posted model hospice election statement and addendum examples on its Hospice spotlight page; not mandatory to use | cgsmedicare.com/hhh/pubs/news/2026/09/news-21201 | |
| 2026-09-17 | CGS J15 | J15 states | Both | FISS DDE screen changes in the October 2026 quarterly release (production Oct 5, 2026) | cgsmedicare.com/hhh/pubs/news/2026/09/news-21104 |
National CMS instructions that every contractor carries out
| Date | Contractor | States | Benefit | What changed | Primary source | Our coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-09 | All MACs | All | Hospice | MM14227 revised: long-stay hospice edits that were switched off return with bypasses for transfers and changes of ownership; eff. 2027-04-01, impl. 2027-04-05 (R13997OTN, CR 14622, issued 2026-10-08) | cms.gov/files/document/mm14227-long-term-hospice | Our story |
| 2026-10-08 | All MACs | All | HH | R13996OTN: fixes "NOA not found" returns (reason code 19963) when an older NOA was purged from FISS; eff. 2027-04-01, impl. 2027-04-05; no MLN Matters article found | cms.gov/files/document/r13996otn.pdf | Our story |
| 2026-10-09 | All MACs | All | HH | MM14639 / R13988CP (CR 14639): January 2027 HH consolidated billing code update removes A4453 and A4459; eff. 2027-01-01, impl. 2027-01-04 | cms.gov/files/document/mm14639-hcpcs-codes-used- | Our story |
| 2026-10-08 | All MACs | All | Both | MLN Connects: HETS users must verify their email by December 1, 2026 to avoid rejected eligibility requests | cms.gov/training-education/medicare-learning-net | |
| 2026-10-01 | All MACs | All | Hospice | MLN Connects: initial implementation of the mandatory hospice election statement addendum (furnish within 5 calendar days of election; updates within 3 days of a plan of care change; enforcement discretion through Dec 31, 2026) | cms.gov/training-education/medicare-learning-net | |
| 2026-09-30 | All MACs | All | Hospice | Federal Register correction to the FY 2027 hospice wage index and payment rate final rule; eff. 2026-10-01 (FR doc 2026-20067) | federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/30/2026-20 | |
| 2026-09-30 | All MACs | All | Hospice | R13976CP (CR 14557): FY 2027 hospice payment rates, cap, wage index and Pricer update; eff. 2026-10-01, impl. 2026-10-05 | cms.gov/files/document/r13976cp.pdf | |
| 2026-09-30 | All MACs | All | HH | R13974CP (CR 14631): January 2027 quarterly HH Grouper update; eff. 2027-01-01, impl. 2027-01-04 | cms.gov/files/document/r13974cp.pdf | |
| 2026-09-30 | All MACs | All | HH | R13972PI (CR 14627): Program Integrity Manual chapter 6 HH sections updated to include allowed practitioners; eff. and impl. 2026-11-02 | cms.gov/files/document/r13972pi.pdf |
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Informational only, not medical, billing, legal or clinical advice. Check the linked primary source and your Medicare Administrative Contractor.