‘Bad Apples In A Barrel’: How Fraudsters In Home Health Care Impact The Entire Space

The home health industry has its very own boogeyman — the bad actor. However, there’s a difference between providers that have made errors in claims processing or quality of care provisions versus those taking part in purposeful fraudulent activity, according to National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi. “The outright […]

What ‘Leveling Off’ Medicare Advantage Penetration Would Mean For Home Health Providers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) isn’t letting up on cuts to home health payments, but its recent rulemaking in Medicare Advantage (MA) may end up benefiting home health providers indirectly. As MA plans become more scrutinized by regulators and lawmakers – and payment updates come with more meager increases – MA penetration […]

Secret Shopping And Competitive Analysis: How Home-Based Care Providers Use Their Peers To Get Ahead

Leaders at top home care companies aren’t operating their businesses in a vacuum. Instead, many are utilizing competitive analyses to stay ahead of the curb. Broadly, a competitive analysis is a benchmarking tool. “​​A lot of health care organizations use competitive analysis for benchmarking to see where they are, or how they are performing versus […]

‘It’s A Number That’s Worth Paying Attention To’: Understanding Private Equity’s Role In Home-Based Care

Private equity’s influence in home-based care and health care at large has been exaggerated. But the active health care firms still play an important role. Pitchbook estimates that PE-backed providers represent 3.3% of the U.S. health care provider ecosystem by revenue. There are at least 73 PE-backed home-based care providers, according to Pitchbook, which represents […]

Turning ‘Pain Points’ Into ‘Bliss Points’: The Chief Experience Officer’s Rise In Home-Based Care

Despite variations in service lines, size and operations, the best home-based care organizations all have one thing in common.  These companies all prioritize the experience — of patients, clients and staff. And while every member of an organization plays a role in shaping the experience, this responsibility largely rests on the shoulders of what is […]

What An Amedisys-VitalCaring Deal Would Mean For Each Company

On late Friday, Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) announced that it had agreed to divest certain locations to VitalCaring, in a deal that would be a massive one for the home health industry. It could clear the way for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) to finalize its takeover of Amedisys, and also turn VitalCaring into one of […]

How The Supreme Court’s Chevron Decision Could Help Stop Home Health Cuts

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court upended the Chevron doctrine precedent. For home health industry purposes, that means a potentially weakened Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) moving forward. The news comes just two days after the home health proposed payment rule was released, which included significant cuts for the third straight year. Broadly, […]