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Hospice agencies who are due for renewal of their HHS contract are required to complete both a Data Use Agreement (DUA) and a Security and Privacy Initial Inquiry (SPI). At this time, it is unclear which, if any, hospice subcontractors (such as DME, pharmacy, etc.) must be covered by the DUA. Each agency will have to assume responsibility for deciding which sub-contractors meet the standard of inclusion.

The SPI requires you to have a DUA policy which HCL is preparing now and will be sent to agencies with March updates. So far, we do not know of any agencies who have been asked to submit policies to HHS with their application, though HHS has the authority to ask for them.

The original date for submission of renewal hospice applications to HHS was March 23, 2017. According to this morning’s post on the HHS website, the deadline for submission has been extended until April 17, 2017.

If you need assistance completing the application/contract, you may contact Dr. Sharon Newton, who does all of HCL’s applications work. You can reach her at 432-249-1686.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Diane Datz, RN, MA
Hospice Program Director
P.O. Box 10960
College Station, TX 77842
Main Office: 888-258-1894
Direct Line: 817-768-3903
Email: dianed@hc-link.net