What The UnitedHealth Group Antitrust Investigation Means For Amedisys, Home Health Industry

Since the news surfaced Tuesday that the Department of Justice had opened an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), additional questions have bubbled up. Namely, those questions surround the home health provider Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), which agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in June of last year. Will that deal be […]

Top Home Health Trends For 2024

In 2023, the decreasing influence of COVID-19 did not mitigate the overall operating pressures home health providers were forced to face. In the new year, there still remains plenty of opportunity, but much to work through to tap into that opportunity. More proposed rate cuts to home health reimbursement are expected from the Centers for […]

2024 Executive Forecast: What 6 Top Home Health Leaders Expect Next Year

Staffing shortages, rate cuts and Medicare Advantage penetration will continue to be trends in the home health market in 2024. Those aren’t new. What is new, however, is how providers plan to combat the issues that stem from those trends. Home health leaders are focused on mitigating margin compression, utilizing more technology, leveraging artificial intelligence, […]

As 2024 Nears, Large Home Health Providers Are Cementing Their MA Strategies

Home health providers’ battle for fair reimbursement from Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be a “generational battle,” and not one they will win overnight. But, at least for larger home health providers, their strategies in that battle are much more definitive than they were even a few years ago.  Luke James, the president of VitalCaring, […]

Lawsuit Over UnitedHealth Group’s AI Strategy Corroborates Home Health Providers’ Convener Claims

A class action lawsuit has been filed against UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in Minnesota. That lawsuit pertains to two issues that home health providers have long griped over: algorithms dictating care, and conveners’ role in between payers and providers. The lawsuit follows an investigation from STAT News, which alleged that UnitedHealth Group – through naviHealth […]

CMS Keeps Home Health Providers In Payment Purgatory With 2024 Final Rule, Strikes Contentious Tone With Industry

After the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2024 final payment rule Wednesday, home health providers found themselves in a position they know all too well. Is a 0.8% aggregate payment increase better than the 2.2% decrease that was proposed? Of course. Was the rule, in its totality, effective in […]

With Optum Acquisition Pending, Amedisys Continues To Grow Non-Medicare, High-Acuity Care Revenue

Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) continues to make significant process in its high-acuity care business through its subsidiary Contessa Health. The company posted its third-quarter earnings late Tuesday, which highlighted 35% year-over-year growth in the high-acuity care segment. Overall, Amedisys admitted 580 high-acuity patients in the quarter in 11 JV markets. The high-acuity care segment, as […]