Home Health Spending to Reach $156 Billion Over Next Decade

National spending on home health care is projected to grow 5.6% in 2015 from last year, and at this pace total expenditures in the sector are poised to reach approximately $156 billion come 2024, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In 2015, home health spending could top roughly […]

CMS Extends Home Health Agency Moratorium in Select Cities

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended its temporary moratorium that bars new home health agencies in select metro areas from enrolling into the federal program. Effective July 29, the moratorium will continue to prohibit for an additional six months the enrollment of new home health agencies and ambulance service providers within […]

Major Workforce Overhaul Needed for Home Health Care Coordination

As health care transformation gets underway, requiring greater care coordination between hospitals and home- and community-based settings, a number of significant challenges threaten to undermine the coordination and care management provided by health care staff, particularly among the home health labor force, a recent report finds. To overcome obstacles associated with job training, recruitment and […]

Almost Family Acquires Health Assessment Company for $2 Million

Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFAM) is acquiring a Florida-based technology company that provides in-home clinical assessments for $2 million in cash plus 260,000 shares of AFAM stock. The company announced last week its planned acquisition of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Ingenios Health Co., a provider of tech-enabled in-home and in-facility health risk assessments on behalf of payers […]

DOL Rule Would Expand Overtime for Salaried Home Care Workers

The Department of Labor (DOL) sparked an ongoing battle when it moved in 2013 to extend overtime protections to home health aides and similar types of workers. Now, it is making moves to extend overtime protections to a larger group of so-called “white collar” workers as well. Specifically, the agency is proposing to substantially raise […]

Feds Issue Contract Worker Guidance for Home Care, Other Industries

Health care companies may have to review how they classify their workers as either employees or independent contractors under labor guidance issued by the federal government—a distinction that carries implications for home health agencies and the caregivers they “employ.” The definition of “employ” is the key factor when determining whether a worker is an employee or […]

Top 10 States for Seniors’ Well-Being

When it comes to the well-being of older Americans, the best states to support an aging population beyond physical health cover a broad range from Hawaii to Connecticut, and even Alaska to New Mexico, according to inaugural rankings from Gallup-Healthways. The report, released this week in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab, finds […]

AccentCare, UC San Diego Form Joint Venture Home Health Company

A joint venture between UC San Diego Health System and Dallas-based AccentCare, Inc. will create a jointly owned home health agency serving patients in San Diego, Calif. and its surrounding communities, the organizations announced Tuesday. The new agency aims to provide a comprehensive continuum of care after patients have been discharged from the hospital in […]

Wall Street Stays Amped on Big 3 Home Health Companies

If there is any indication of Wall Street’s continued bullish interest in the home health sector, the surging stock prices experienced by three of the nation’s largest providers is one clear-cut sign, a recent analysis suggests. Amedisys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHC) and Almost Family, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFAM) are leading the pack for […]