While the number of home health workers per capita available to seniors in the U.S. is increasing, those employees are seeing a population with more behavioral health challenges than they have in years past. Those are just a few select findings from the American Health Rankings 2019 Senior Report from the United Health Foundation, a […]
Category: CMS
At least five states are suing the Trump administration over a recently finalized rule they say would prevent home health workers paid by Medicaid from having their union dues automatically removed from their paychecks, according to Reuters. States involved in the lawsuit include California, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon. The states claim the rule weakens […]
The vast majority of home health clinicians currently face a steep uphill climb when it comes to operationalizing the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), with slightly less than eight months to go before the payment overhaul goes live, a new survey suggests. Among its changes, PDGM uses 30-day periods as a basis for payment, with each […]
LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) has turned its cornerstone joint venture strategy up a notch in the early part of 2019, a decision that helped propel the Lafayette, Louisiana-based home health giant to a steady first quarter. JVs will continue to play a leading role as LHC Group readies itself for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model […]
Home health providers from coast to coast are scrambling to prepare their operations ahead of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) — but what comes after the new model’s implementation could cause agencies an even bigger headache. In the months after PDGM goes into effect, home health audits — much like bankruptcies — are expected to […]
Home health providers across the country are fine-tuning their back-office and clinical operations for the intricacies of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Wound care, in particular, can’t be neglected. Currently, wound care is one of the most frequent clinical groupings and the one utilizing the most in terms of home health resources, according to statistics […]
When the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020, therapy-heavy home health agencies will have to get creative to ensure the new model doesn’t hurt their bottom line. PDGM eliminates therapy-visit volume as a determining factor in calculating reimbursements, meaning therapy will no longer be a guaranteed revenue-driver for home health […]
*Editor’s note (4/30/2019): This story has been updated to include comments from Hometeam CEO Randy Klein. Home-based care providers continue to show their support for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) move to better coordinate care for Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. CMS first announced plans to expand coverage options […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans Wednesday to expand coverage options for Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, giving states the freedom to develop their own programs for dual-eligible beneficiaries. While the directive doesn’t outline specific opportunities for home-based care providers, the move is still encouraging for the industry, […]
Health care policymakers on Monday unveiled a new voluntary risk-based initiative designed to reward physicians who keep patients at home and away from hospitals. Based upon the work of previous administrations, the new initiative marks a major inflection point for the value-based transformation of the U.S. health care system, according to Department of Health and […]