Home Health Foundation Layoffs Tied to Organizational Realignment

As part of an organizational realignment and effort to consolidate services, Lawrence, Massachusetts-based Home Health Foundation is closing its home care line. More than 200 home care workers will be laid off as a result of the closure. Home Health Foundation — a provider of home health, palliative, hospice and home care services — became […]

Senator Rand Paul Slams PDGM, ‘Guesses by Government Bureaucrats’

House lawmakers have yet to introduce a companion bill to the Home Health Payment Innovation Act (S. 433), legislation introduced in the Senate in February focused on the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). That doesn’t mean the home health industry has lost the attention of Congress when it comes to PDGM and future payment, however. Kentucky […]

Thrive: Senior Helpers Franchisee Steadily Acquiring New Territories

After catching a brief glimpse of the value home care offers, entrepreneur Ross Goodson purchased the rights to his first Senior Helpers franchise territory in 2009. But unlike many older, more well-established franchise owners, he was only 26 years old at the time. As of April 1,2019, Goodson had a total of five Senior Helpers […]

Honor Expands to Arizona With Three New Home Care Partners

San Francisco-based home care startup Honor has expanded into a fourth state by partnering with three existing home care agencies serving the Arizona market. Honor, which has raised $115 million since launching in 2014, had previously been operating in California, New Mexico and Texas. Founded as a technology-powered home care provider with plans to Uberize […]

Home Health M&A Activity Expected to Climb Following PDGM, Bankruptcies

Cash flow interruptions and operational changes caused by the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) may lead to a spike in the number of home health providers in the U.S. filing for bankruptcy, some experts predict. If the forecast is accurate, that may also mean more initial M&A action as well. “I agree with the premise that […]

Home Care Providers Look Ahead as Medicare Advantage Evolution Continues

Home care providers slow to chase Medicare Advantage business opportunities may now be motivated to speed up their pursuits. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it was broadening the range of supplemental benefits Medicare Advantage (MA) plans can offer in 2020. Starting next year, health care policymakers will allow MA […]

CMS Finalizes In-Home Medicare Advantage Telehealth Policies

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday that the agency has finalized a set of policies designed to expand the use of telehealth benefits under the Medicare Advantage program. Originally proposed in October 2018 for the 2020 plan year, the new policies from CMS are meant to expand access to telehealth services […]

Home Health Bankruptcies Likely to Rise After PDGM

Although a fairly common practice in the senior housing and skilled nursing worlds, home health providers as a group have largely avoided bankruptcy proceedings, partly thanks to a steady reimbursement landscape and increasing demand for services by older Americans hoping to age in place. If history serves as any guide, that’s likely to change under […]

Why Functional Status Matters More Under PDGM

The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) will shake up how and when home health providers are reimbursed compared to the current Medicare model, which has been in place since 2000. Among PDGM’s changes, for example, functional status and the OASIS M1800s section will matter significantly more. That’s a major change for home health providers, who are […]