CareSouth Changes Company Name to Reflect Partnership

Home care provider CareSouth Home Care Professionals of Campbell Calif., announced last week a plan to take on the name of its partner company, Professional Healthcare at Home, in an effort to solidify a common name for the care providers serving the San Jose, Calif. area.   CareSouth’s Campbell location, as well as four other […]

AARP: Seniors Fear Presidential Candidates Neglecting Medicare Issues

With the 2012 presidential campaign looming overhead, a July 2012 AARP survey finds aging Americans believe candidates are neglecting key issues, causing seniors to experience increased anxiety about retirement and their ability to afford healthcare as they age. Contributing to seniors’ uneasy feelings about retirement and healthcare are weaknesses in the Medicare and Social Security […]

Five Illinois Home Health Employees Indicted in $400,000 Kickback Scheme

Five Lincolnwood, Ill. home health agency employees were indicted Monday on charges for allegedly participating in a Medicare fraud scheme involving $400,000 in kickbacks for the referral and retention of Medicare beneficiaries, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.  In their kickback scheme, Goodwill Home Healthcare, Inc. billed Medicare for $5 million to cover their […]

Medicare Cuts Drive Amedisys Q2 Profits Down

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED), provider of home health and hospice care, suffered a 65.8% decline in earnings per share (EPS), during the second quarter of 2012 due to large cuts in Medicare reimbursements and the implementation of Medicare’s face-to-face law, according the company’s second quarter financial report. Despite decline to an EPS of 27 cents, the company […]

Women Main Beneficiaries of Long-Term Care Insurance, and Counting

Women receiving home care accounted for 32% of new long-term insurance claims in 2011 and continue to be the majority beneficiaries of all long-term care insurance plans, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). In addition to using long-term care more frequently than men, according to AARP’s Public Policy Institute (PPI), women […]

Owner of Home Health Agency Guilty of $60 Million Fraud Scheme

The owner of Miami health care agency Ronat Home Health Care Inc., pleaded guilty Tuesday to his involvement in a $60 million Medicare fraud scheme lasting from 2006 to 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.  According to court documents, Rodolfo Nieto Jr. received kickbacks in exchange for recruiting Medicare beneficiaries through Ronat and […]

Healthcare Companies Drowning in Data Overload or Just Treading Water?

An Oracle report recently found an 85% increase in electronic data storage over the past two years, and although health care professionals may seem to be drowning in a sea of collected information, industry leaders believe the data overload is only temporary.   The Oracle report, which spanned 11 industries, surveyed 333 C-level U.S. and […]

Medicaid Health Homes a “Promising” Addition for Managed Senior Care

Low income seniors may have new opportunities in receiving home health care in at least six states, as Medicaid recently announced the states’ adoption of a new program that focuses on funding “health homes” for beneficiaries with chronic conditions, according to a paper published by the Kaiser Commission.  Seniors on low income budgets are part […]

Huffington Post: Home Health Aides Must Raise the Bar

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects a 10-year 50% increase in the number of employed home health aides from beginning in 2008. This will result in an expected 1.38 million aides by 2018. Despite this increase in available aides, not all are equally qualified to care for the elderly, reported a Huffington Post blog post […]

Proposed Sanctions Could Cost Non-Compliant Home Health Agencies $10,000 Daily

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Studies recently came out with a plan on impose intermediary sanctions on non-compliant home health agencies (HHAs) as the first set of options allowing an alternative to simply terminating the non-compliant companies. These sanctions could lead to new fines for the non-compliant agencies.  Intermediary sanctions introduced include suspension of payment […]