As COVID-19 sweeps the country and threatens vulnerable senior populations who rely on home-based care, the stakes have never been higher for providers in the space. A lot of that pressure falls on front-line, home-based care workers, whose jobs are more challenging — and more important — than ever in light of the pandemic. Their […]
In mid-March, Alliance Homecare attempted to acquire 400 COVID-19 tests from Lenco, a Brooklyn, New York-based lab. While the private-pay home health and home care provider was initially told it had a 99% chance of receiving those tests, its request was ultimately denied. Now, more than two weeks later, Alliance and other New York-based in-home […]
In the past two weeks, nearly 10 million people have filed for unemployment, pushing the jobless rate “certainly higher than at any point since the Great Depression,” according to the New York Times. These unprecedented times have prompted unprecedented benefits: Thanks to new pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic […]
COVID-19 has opened the floodgates for adoption of telehealth services, creating newfound opportunities for technology companies looking to change the way health care is delivered by moving more care into the home and out of institutional settings. One such company is GreatCall, acquired by electronics retail giant Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) for a whopping $800 […]
As COVID-19 cases rise in the U.S., more in-home care providers are starting to struggle with dwindling stockpiles of basic protective equipment for workers. Overall, roughly 88% of medical personnel in more than 200 U.S. cities do not have a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a recent survey conducted by the […]
On Friday, Feb. 28, just after 10 p.m. PT, Brent Korte — chief home care officer at EvergreenHealth — got a call that changed everything. It was from his boss. “She asked me if I was sitting down,” Korte said. “She told me that EvergreenHealth not only had patients who had tested positive for COVID-19, […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took “unprecedented” action to reduce red tape for home health care agencies and other Medicare providers on Monday. Although the changes are, in theory, temporary, many home health stakeholders welcomed the newfound flexibility aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, however, were left scratching their heads, confused […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took multiple actions on Monday to further support home health providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, CMS loosened Medicare’s homebound requirement, suspended its pre-claim review demonstration and announced new telehealth flexibilities. While the “unprecedented” measures are undoubtedly beneficial, the situation on the ground suggests […]
Pediatric home health is a vital service. But while the need for this type of care continues to grow, longstanding recruitment challenges remain, making the space tricky for providers to navigate. Roughly 13.3 million, or 18% of children in the U.S., have special health care needs. As of 2017, about half of these children received […]
Health care policymakers are already taking advantage of the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help out Medicare-reimbursed providers struggling with cash flow. On Saturday, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it was expanding its accelerated and advance payment program for Medicare providers, citing a need […]