Any body cutting the middle man out of Medicare Health Risk Assessments?

[Amp123]

Hi Nurse Gang,

I am a new FNP looking for an easy side hustle. I have been getting a lot of adds from Elite NP and am interested in the Medicare Home Risk Assessment (HRA) course. I am a bit hesitant due to the site's strong predator vibes, LOL. I don't want to throw away my hard earned money. Are there any NPs doing these HRAs on their own, not for an employer?

Thanks for any insights!

-Amp

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Have you read  Medicare regs

Implementing Best Practices for In-Home Health Risk Assessments.

Quote

Health risk assessments (HRAs) are an established component of the Medicare program.

CMS covers an initial health assessment for beneficiaries in FFS Medicare and in Medicare Advantage within 90 days of the effective date of Medicare enrollment. This can be accomplished through a FFS Medicare initial preventive visit (I.e. "Welcome to Medicare" visit), an Annual Wellness Visit, or in Medicare Advantage, a health risk assessment.
Per CMS guidance, Medicare Advantage plans must make a best effort to conduct a health assessment annually to ensure coordinated and continuous patient care.
Within Medicare Advantage, CMS requires health plans that offer a Special Needs Plan (SNP) to conduct a comprehensive HRA at the time of enrollment and annually thereafter, and new regulations will standardize some of the information collected, including questions on beneficiary social risk factors.xvi

Interim Guidance for Health Risk Assessments and their Modes of Provision for Medicare Beneficiaries

They are the backbone of Medicare Managed Care Advantage programs. Health Risk Assessments in Medicare Advantage   Therefore, a NP would need to be a participating Medicare Advantage insurance company provider to receive payment.

Purpose  of this assessment is for CARE COORDINATION -- results need to be provided to a PCP/insurance company for implementation and followup.

Consider setting up as an independent contractor with a Geriatric or large family practice or  Medicare Advantage group.

Previous AN thread: In-home NP Medicare Assessments

[Eagle2110, ASN, BSN, APRN]

Hi, Amy,

Not to discourage you, but I took that course and did not leave feeling like I could start my own business doing HRAs, although I previously completed HRAs for other companies. It has been awhile since I looked through the Facebook chats regarding the course, but at the time, people were reporting that they too did not see how to obtain the contracts needed to perform these assessments without a middle man. 

If you take the course and feel stagnant, I suggest emailing the course developer for guidance.

If all else fails, Elite does offer a lifetime money back guarantee. 

 

Hope this helps.