Upcoming Webinar: Building a Successful, Data-Driven Quality Program

Date: Wednesday, September 26 Time: 1:00-2:00 P.M. CDT The home care and hospice industry is increasingly competitive. The shift from “volume” to “value” means that agencies must increasingly focus on quality outcomes and prove their “worth” to customers and referral sources alike. Agencies must have a robust quality program in place that identifies, tracks and trends key […]

With Seniors in Mind, Humana to Open Boston-Based Digital Health Center

Insurance powerhouse and rising home health player Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is planning to open a new center for digital health and analytics in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood. The health care company plans to complete the 40,000-square-foot center, known as Humana Studio H, in the summer of 2019. Employing a projected 250 people within the next […]

MedPAC: Home Health Increasingly Not a Post-Hospital Service

In an ongoing and dramatic shift from the early 2000s, the vast majority of home health episodes are no longer preceded by a hospitalization or skilled nursing facility stay. That’s according to the latest round of federal health care spending data insights compiled by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a nonpartisan legislative branch agency […]

Hackers Reportedly Steal, Ransom Data Of More Than 80,000 Home Care Patients

In a bizarre and developing story, as many as 80,000 patients in Canada may have had detailed medical, financial and personal records stolen by a hacker group after it infiltrated the computer systems of home care services provider CarePartners. Ontario-based CarePartners, which has provided government-sponsored personal, rehabilitation and nursing care services to hundreds of thousands […]

2017 Hospice and Home Health Medicare Utilization Trends

From 2016 to 2017, the home health and hospice markets both experienced growth, with millions of more Medicare beneficiaries utilizing these services, according to year-end data from Excel Health. The data, which is based on the most recent Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B claims data, show there were 57.7 million Medicare beneficiaries residing in […]

Home Health Providers Excel at Keeping Patients Active

When it comes to the performance of the health care system overall, the United States is a mixed bag, but there’s some good news on the home health front. Some states—Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont and Utah, in particular—are excelling at providing quality, affordable health care to their residents, a new report has found. Others—Louisiana, Oklahoma […]

End-of-Life Care Costs Declined Last Decade

Medicare spending on older Americans during their end-of-life years was down toward the start of last decade, a new study has found. Led by Dartmouth researchers, the study upends the notion that older adults, many of whom end up on hospice care in the last few weeks of life, are largely responsible for driving up […]

Readmissions, ER Trips Higher Among Minority Groups in Home Health

Home health may improve patient outcomes and lower overall care costs, but it might be working better for white patients compared to minority groups, a recent study has found. About 12 million people in the United States rely on home health care, often to help manage conditions including diabetes, heart failure, osteoarthritis and hypertension, according […]

Longer Home Health Visits Tied to Lower Hospital Rates

Home health care visits that are longer by just one minute may be tied to lower hospital readmission rates. That’s the key finding from a recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). “We obviously see an effect,” Guy David, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and author of the research, told Home Health Care News. “Shorter visits […]

Best and Worst States for Retirement

Seniors have their choice when it comes to where to retire, and not all states are equal. With health care costs ranking as a top concern among retirees, some states are clear champions for seniors. Kiplinger ranked states based on several factors, including living expenses, tax burdens, health care costs, household incomes, poverty rates and […]