Hospices receive their PEPPER via PEPPER Resources Portal at https://pepper-file.cbrpepper.org.

Current PEPPER User's Guide:

• Hospice PEPPER User’s Guide (PDF, 11th Edition)

PEPPER Training Sessions

• May 2022 Hospice PEPPER Review: This webinar reviews the PEPPER for Hospice, version Q4FY21, released in early April, 2022. This webinar includes the history/background of PEPPER, a high-level review of the target areas, a walk-through of a sample PEPPER, and guidance for accessing the PEPPER. Download the PowerPoint slides (PDF), transcript (PDF) or the Q&As (PDF) for this PEPPER update.
• Access a complete series of PEPPER training chapters, available as “chapters” for ease of access. A review of a sample Hospice PEPPER is also available.
• New PEPPER Format: This session reviews changes to the PEPPER for greater accessibility, cleaner presentation and improved readability. Download the PowerPoint slides (PDF) or the transcript (PDF) for this PEPPER recording.

Data Resources

• National Target Area Analysis
• National Top Terminal Diagnoses
• National Live Discharges by Type
• State Target Area Analysis
• State Top Terminal Diagnoses
• State Live Discharges by Type
• Peer Group Bar Chart

Demonstration PEPPER:

• Demonstration PEPPER version Q4FY21 (XLSX)

Jurisdictions:

• View a list of the 4 MAC jurisdictions and the number of hospices in each jurisdiction in total and by state for PEPPER version Q4FY21 (XLSX).

HOSPICE PEPPER TESTIMONIALS

• Learn how PEPPER helps a Washington hospice (PDF) focus on patients
• Learn how (PDF) a Kentucky Hospice uses PEPPER to monitor compliance risk areas.

Other Resources:

• Refer to this document for guidance on how to create a listing of patients included in the PEPPER target areas (PDF).
• History of Target Area Changes: This document identifies revisions to existing target areas that have been implemented since the Q4FY16 release. It includes a description of the revision and the expected impact in terms of the number of providers that have "reportable data" (numerator count of 11+) for the target area. This document will be updated on an ongoing basis.
• Reference CMS’ MLN Matters 8877 (PDF) article for guidance on site of service codes.
• Visit the NGS Website to view site of service (Q-code) job aids.
• Access the Hospice Medicare Billing Codes Sheet (PDF) from CGS
• Access the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (PDF) for hospices.
• View this slide presentation (PPT, updated 7-11-2013) on percents and percentiles to help understand the differences between “percent” and “percentile” and how they are used in PEPPER.