In case you missed it, here are the most popular stories grabbing Home Health Care News’ readers attention this past week:
Home Health Focus Starts Paying Off for Kindred — A month following the finalization of its acquisition of home health provider Gentiva Health Services, Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) reported that its strategy to focus on home health care has begun to produce considerable growth for the company. In the fourth quarter, the company’s Kindred at Home division increased revenue by 31%, as home health revenues doubled the company’s core operating income for the year.
Retirees Rank Home Care No. 1 Way to Meet Long-Term Needs —The vast majority (85%) of retirees age 50 and older said their top priority for receiving long-term care is in their own homes, according to a recent retirement study by Merrill Lynch. And as the number of nursing home residents continue to decline, new services, technologies and options are enabling a greater number of people to receive care at home.
Providers have ‘Oversold’ Benefits of Home Health, New Book Argues — The old “aging in place” notion justifying Americans’ desires to remain in their homes as long as possible may be largely exaggerated, specifically by home health care providers looking to profit from it, says a new book from a University of Florida professor of gerontology. The hype, he argues, is oversold not only by the media, but also by home health care providers and builders eager to capitalize on home renovations.
New Congressional Caucus Could Move the Ball on Home Health Issues — A new caucus formed last week plans to educate members of Congress and push for bills to address home health care issues, such as the growing ranks of unpaid family caregivers in the U.S. Dubbed the Assisting Caregivers Today, the caucus members did not provide specific details about policies they will push for, but they believe there are opportunities to leverage programs like Medicare to drive sustainable wages for professional caregivers.
Home Health Quality Has Improved, CMS Reports — A report released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showed that health care providers are performing better on their process measures. Across 119 quality measures examined, 95% showed improvement over a period of three to six years across all providers, including home health care.
Written by Jason Oliva
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