One of the largest home care and community health organizations in the country has landed additional financial support to continue building out its home-based primary care and palliative medicine offerings. Holmdel, New Jersey-based Visiting Nurse Association Health Group announced in January that it had been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Parker Foundation to […]
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Lengthy payment delays, negative operating margins and severe labor shortages have contributed to a challenging financial environment for home-based care providers doing business in the state of New York. The financial hardship has even triggered layoffs in some cases, including at one of the state’s certified home health agencies serving the largest number of patients […]
As more states push to raise the minimum wage, home-based care companies must work harder than ever to attract and retain workers as competition among employers grows. In home health care, agencies’ success often depends on Medicaid reimbursement, which is not keeping up with wage inflation in some states. And in private-pay home care, increased […]
The long-standing moratoria on new Medicare home health agencies is no longer in effect anywhere in the U.S. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed the temporary ban to expire on Jan. 30, a move that will likely improve patient access to home-based care in related markets, experts say. CMS initially implemented a […]
Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) — already one of the country’s largest independent home health providers — has closed on its $340 million acquisition of Compassionate Care Hospice. In doing so, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company in one fell swoop dramatically expands its end-of-life care presence and becomes the third-largest hospice provider in the U.S. as […]
As health care costs rise unsustainably and the aging population booms like never before, the need for affordable at-home care continues to grow. But from an insurance standpoint, providing that care could soon come with more risk and a higher price tag. “There’s no specific data that is publicly available that speaks to [at-home care […]
Home Instead Inc. — the international franchise company behind the Home Instead Senior Care network — is joining forces with senior-friendly tablet startup GrandPad in an attempt to reduce client loneliness and improve connectivity. As part of the new partnership — announced Tuesday — the Omaha, Nebraska-based home care franchiser has also made a “significant” […]
When it takes effect next year, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to revolutionize home health agency operations and double billing efforts. As the biggest payment overhaul in years, it’s crucial for providers to spend 2019 preparing for — and fighting certain aspects of — […]
Home health agencies are still unsure what a recent overhaul of Medicare’s accountable care organization (ACO) program means for them. They will be affected, experts say, but how and to what extent remains unclear. Called “Pathways to Success,” the new policies for ACOs were announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about […]
Using a virtual reality headset and the story of a veteran with lung cancer, a Los Angeles-based company is showing caregivers what it’s like to die in hospice care. The goal of the simulation, created by Embodied Labs, is to bring new dimensions to employee training. “People will say, ‘Oh, so you’re teaching empathy, right?’ […]