From Higher-Acuity Care in the Home to Pandemic-Related Surprises: 7 Under-the-Radar Stories That Shaped 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to dominate headlines in 2021, despite the collective desire for it to be gone by this past summer.

But it didn’t stop massive dealmaking, which made M&A just as big of a story in home-based care as the virus. Thus, those two topics took up a lot of Home Health Care News’ top 10 stories of the year. 

There were plenty of other fascinating stories that may have slipped through the cracks, however. Whether it be budding public companies, home health agencies looking to increase their capabilities in the home or new disruptors to the space, there’s plenty else to look back on.

These stories are our hidden gems of the past year:

1. An Unexpected Savior: How PDGM Prep Helped Home Health Agencies Ease COVID-19’s Impact (Feb. 3)

Where COVID-19 dominated the headlines of 2020 and 2021, before then, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) was just about all anyone in home health care was talking about.

More than anything, there was a nervousness and anxiety over what effect the new payment model would have on the industry. But for some providers, the urgency that came with it was an unexpected savior. 

It indirectly prepared them for the uncertainty that the virus has brought with it.

2. Aging-In-Place Alternatives: How UpsideHōM, CarePods Are Disrupting Traditional Senior Care Models (Aug. 17)

The shift of more older adults wanting to age in place, particularly during the pandemic, opened the doors for new disruptors in the senior care space.

Funding of startups looking to do just that has skyrocketed over the past two years. For instance, just $351 million was invested in U.S. startups in elder or home health care in 2019, according to Crunchbase. In 2020, however, that number jumped $1.14 billion. 

This past year saw investment activity in line with 2020, proving that money flooding into home-based care – and senior care generally – shows no signs of tapering off.

3. Beyond the Bottom Line: Why M&A Isn’t Just About EBITDA for The Pennant Group (Oct. 27)

The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) has been public for over two years at this point.

It’s a big player, but its strategy is localized. That’s a reflection of how different public companies act now compared to 15 years ago when they were hellbent on being “national” providers.

Pennant CEO Danny Walker sat down with HHCN to discuss that strategy and also what it’s like to lead a newly public company through these last two years in particular.

4. Walgreens Jump-Starts ‘Walgreens Health’ by Investing $5.5 Billion in VillageMD, CareCentrix (Oct. 14)

When Walgreens (Nasdaq: WBA) first invested $1 billion in the home-focused primary care company VillageMD, it was a sign that the retailer was looking to reach further into the community with its care capabilities.

Since then, the company has doubled and tripled down on that notion. It later invested over $5 billion more into VillageMD – which has a home-based care arm – and also acquired CareCentrix, which is a post-acute care technology platform.

5. Home Health Veterans Windley, Strange Hoping to Take Aveanna Above and Beyond $2 Billion (July 20)

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: AVAH) was the new kid on the public market this year.

The company acted with intention, aggressively acquiring home health agencies across the country to build out its senior care capabilities after starting out as a home-based pediatric provider.

Its leaders are anything but new to the industry, however. This is the story of Rod Windley and Tony Strange – chairman and CEO, respectively – and their journey through home health over the last 25 years.

6. Amedisys Looks to Pull Away from the Home Health Pack with ‘No Brainer’ Contessa Deal (July 1)

One of the biggest themes of 2021 was home health players looking to care for patients with higher-acuity needs in the home. 

As COVID-19 disrupted health care, home-based care agencies jumped at the opportunity to care for more patients.

As a demonstration of that, Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) acquired one of the top hospital- at-home enablers in the country in Contessa. Its CEO, Paul Kusserow, called the move a “no brainer.”

7. LHC Group, SCP Health Form New Partnership to Provide Higher-Acuity Care in the Home (July 7)

Along the same lines, LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHC) formed a partnership with SCP Health – a national acute care provider – to also bring higher-acuity care into the home. 

“The future for home health is taking higher-acuity patients in addition to the traditional patients,” LHC Group Keith Myers said. “I think you’ll see the smaller home health providers continue to take the lower-acuity patients and live in that space, but the larger, more sophisticated providers are going to reach upstream and take care of patients that previously were in an in-patient setting.”