‘Full-Court Press’ Underway to Get Home Health Bills Passed

As home health providers are reeling in wake of new regulations, industry groups are stepping up their advocacy actions—and having some success. After a disastrous roll out of the Pre-Claim Review Demonstration from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in Illinois, the agency announced it would delay implementation in the four other states, thanks […]

The Case for Aligning Medicare and Medicaid Home Health Benefits

Medicare rules limiting home health should be relaxed and brought more into line with Medicaid for the most costly patient population, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). In fact, the oversight of programs serving dual-eligible beneficiaries within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should be aligned, according to the “Delivery System Reform: Improving Care […]

Pre-Claim Review Delayed Ahead of Florida Start Date

Amid reports that the rollout of the Pre-Claim Review Demonstration in Illinois led to a “complete mess,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will delay the start date in Florida by at least 30 days, the agency has announced. The decision comes as industry groups, home health care companies and two U.S. Senators […]

CMS: Bundled Payments Are Driving More Care to Home Health

As the health care industry braces for more bundled payments, there is good news for home health agencies. As part of initiatives to reduce costs across episodes of care, home health agencies are increasingly being relied on within bundled payment models, a recently released evaluation revealed. Bundled payments, which were introduced by the Centers for Medicare […]

Final CMS Emergency Prep Rule Hits Home Health

Under a new final rule, home health agencies and other Medicare-certified providers will be required to meet emergency preparedness standards—or face the risk of losing national payor reimbursements. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its long-awaited rule on emergency preparedness at a time when numerous natural disasters over the last few years […]

Editor’s Picks: Amedisys CEO on Boosting Star Ratings

After retiring our white trousers and resting up on Labor Day, we were here to bring our readers the latest home health happenings across the industry. This week, readers were still itching for more information about the pre-claim review, after two Florida Senators wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay […]

Senators Push for Pre-Claim Delay After ‘Complete Mess’ in Illinois

Two U.S. Senators have called for a controversial home health pre-claim review demonstration program to be delayed in Florida, and they reiterated concerns over how pre-claim threatens providers and patients. And their concerns appear well-founded, considering reports from providers in Illinois, where pre-claim already has been implemented. “We remain concerned this demonstration may restrict beneficiary access to […]

LHC: Hard to Judge Proposed Revamp of Medicare Payment System

The most recent proposal for a new prospective payment system (PPS) for home health agencies was released last week. One major home health provider has a few reservations, but thinks the company could support the proposal depending on specific details still to be released. “It’s difficult to formulate an opinion on what their doing,” Richard MacMillan, senior vice president […]

Judge: CMS Must Clarify When Rehab is Covered by Medicare

Home health agencies may be worried about offering services to patients whose conditions are not improving. But home health and other providers need to be reassured that they can in fact bill Medicare for these types of services and expect payment, a federal judge recently ordered. Indeed, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) […]

MedPAC Recommends Deeper Home Health Payment Cuts

The $180 million reduction in CY2017 Medicare home health payments proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) isn’t enough and should go further, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) wrote in a letter to CMS. The proposed changes to the Medicare home health prospective payment system (HH PPS), which were posted on […]