As home health and home care operators move toward the ninth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to take stock of what has been accomplished from a policy perspective. Many of 2020’s regulatory changes will be fleeting, but others will shape the future of post-acute care for years to come. That was the message […]
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is in need of a “course correction,” top U.S. health care officials believe. And part of that may include a national expansion of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model. Created under the Affordable Care Act, CMMI — also known as the CMS Innovation Center — supports the […]
Now that the dust has settled on the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), some have returned their attention toward the idea of another major reimbursement overhaul: a unified post-acute payment system. There had been mounting momentum behind a unified payment model for post-acute care providers headed into 2020. The ongoing COVID-19 emergency has derailed a lot […]
In passing a bipartisan funding bill last week to avoid a possible government shutdown, the U.S. Senate officially restructured and relaxed repayment terms for the Medicare loans taken out by home health providers in spring. President Donald Trump signed the funding bill into law on Wednesday, just two days before being flown to Walter Reed […]
In August, the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) unveiled a first-of-its kind, comprehensive analysis of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Among its findings, the analysis — conducted by health economics and policy consulting firm Dobson DaVanzo & Associates — highlighted how government spending on home health care is 21.6% lower than what the U.S. […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday released $165 million in supplemental funding for Money Follows the Person (MFP) programs, which encourage transitions from long-term care facilities to home- and community-based settings. In the grand scheme of government health care spending, $165 million is only a drop in the bucket. In […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took a new step on Wednesday to support care transitions from long-term care facilities into home- and community-based settings. On Wednesday, CMS announced the availability of up to $165 million in supplemental funding to states currently operating Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration programs. MFP programs […]
Home health providers that have been waiting for the Medicare advance and accelerated loan repayment process to begin will have to wait a little bit longer. While the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has yet to release an official statement, Administrator Seema Verma has confirmed the agency will hold off on the […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is once again calling attention to its previously outlined commitment to value-based care strategies. The agency on Tuesday released new guidance to help states shift more toward value-based approaches under their Medicaid programs. The overarching goal of the guidance is to better align health care provider […]
In an effort to ease the cash flow challenges associated with the COVID-19 emergency, many home health providers took on advance and accelerated payment loans from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Now, the time has come for the recoupment process to begin. But CMS has been quiet on the matter, creating […]