CMS’ Staffing Mandate Proposal For Nursing Homes Could ‘Spell Trouble’ For Home Health Care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) nursing home staffing proposal has been a dark cloud over the industry. Some believe it could spell trouble for home health care as well. In September, CMS released a proposal that would require nursing homes to implement a minimum staffing standard, if finalized. The proposal introduces a […]

The Upsides, Downsides To Home-Based Palliative Care Programs

Though nearly ubiquitous in the hospice space, palliative care is a service line that remains largely untapped by home health providers. When its comes to palliative care, there’s a lot of variability from an operational standpoint, Nicole DePace, director of the advanced illness management programs at NVNA and Hospice, said during a webinar hosted by […]

OIG Believes Unreported Falls Show ‘Poor Compliance,’ But Home Health Advocates Disagree

Home health agencies aren’t reporting more than half of falls involving major injury or hospitalization on patient assessments for Medicare beneficiaries, a recent report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found. In order to compile this report, OIG looked for falls with major injury in Medicare hospital claims for home health patients, and then […]

Misconceptions That Could Be Keeping Home-Based Care Providers From Further COVID-19 Relief

Many home-based care providers are still feeling the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and misconceptions around eligibility status have led to many agencies not engaging with a potentially key resource.    Specifically, they may be leaving money on the table by not taking full advantage — or completely opting out — of the employee retention […]

How The Sausage Gets Made: Inside CMS’ Home Health Payment Rulemaking Process

Every year, industry stakeholders anticipate the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) release of the home health proposed payment rule and the final rule. The final rule’s provisions and updates determine what the Medicare home health landscape will look like for the foreseeable future, but sometimes providers aren’t well-versed on the ins and […]

NAHC, NHPCO Sign Letter Of Intent To Potentially Combine

The boards of two of the most prominent home-based care associations are coming together to explore the formation of a new organization. On Thursday, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) announced that their boards signed a non-binding letter of intent to pursue a […]

NAHC, PQHH Sound The Alarm Over ‘Irreparable Fracturing Of The Foundation Of Skilled Home Health Care In America’

Two of home health care’s biggest advocacy organizations have joined forces on a proposed payment rule pre-comment letter addressed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). On Friday, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) submitted a joint comment letter that called for […]

Home-Based Care M&A Likely To Be Affected By ‘Warning Shot’ Sent Out By Regulators

A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposal focused on health care dealmaking could create roadblocks for future home-based care deals. Last month, the antitrust agency rolled out a proposed rule that would force merging companies to disclose information regarding minority investors, supplier agreements, subsidies from foreign entities, past acquisitions and workforce data. That would be […]