In an ongoing and dramatic shift from the early 2000s, the vast majority of home health episodes are no longer preceded by a hospitalization or skilled nursing facility stay. That’s according to the latest round of federal health care spending data insights compiled by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a nonpartisan legislative branch agency […]
In-home care providers, state Medicaid programs and their tech-vendor partners will very likely have at least one more year to gear up for the federally mandated nationwide rollout of electronic visit verification (EVV). That is, depending on what President Donald Trump decides to do. The U.S. House of Representatives last month signed off on H.R. […]
ResCare, Inc., one of the largest privately held home and community-based health services providers to complex populations in the United States, has continued its recent leadership infusion by hiring a new top executive to oversee its robust Intellectual and Development Disability (IDD) Services business line. Louisville, Kentucky-based ResCare announced on Tuesday that assisted living and […]
Lawmakers may not agree on much these days, but they at least appear to agree when it comes to fostering end-of-life care for terminally ill Americans. The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA), a bipartisan piece of legislation designed to expand and strengthen end-of-life care […]
McBee Looks Internally for New President McBee Associates has a new—but familiar—incoming president to help guide the health care services and consulting firm as it adapts to a shifting value-driven landscape and new payment models for post-acute spaces. Executive Vice President Mike Dordick has been promoted to president of the Wayne, Pennsylvania-based McBee, the firm […]
There are a variety of technical changes and nuances home health providers need to be aware of before the new Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) goes into effect in 2020. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released details of its home health payment reform plan in its July 2 proposed rule. In its initial […]
When a professional home health agency isn’t an option, family and other unpaid caregivers are often asked to pick up the slack. It’s estimated that more than 34 million people in the United States provide unpaid care to individuals 50 and older. The economic impact of those services is far from trivial. Indeed, unpaid caregivers—largely […]
Millions of individuals in the United States depend on home health services to help manage chronic conditions and recover after surgeries or unexpected illnesses. Home health utilization is increasingly, too, partly because services are typically provided in the lowest-cost setting. Home health may be cheaper, but it’s also, perhaps, more dangerous. There are numerous risks […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced at the end of May it was seeking public input on a new proposal to bring back a slightly different version of pre-claim review, which the home health industry fiercely contested and fought back when first introduced two years ago. Well, it turns out that proposal […]
Proposed policy changes related to how home health agencies bill for therapy shouldn’t cause the industry to cut staff or abruptly back away from those services, experts say. Under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 2, home health providers would no longer be able […]