‘Bigger, Better and Stronger Than Ever’: Encompass Health’s April Anthony Sounds Off on Home Health Care’s Future

Nearly half a year has gone by since the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency. During that time, home health organizations have faced volatile census swings, rising equipment costs, unpredictable staffing situations and a bevy of other challenges. While not all operators have weathered the storm, most have. Now, as the home health landscape […]

Medically Home’s Rakowski: The Hospital-at-Home Model Is the ‘Poster Child’ for Value-Based Care

The COVID-19 emergency has made the hospital-at-home model more relevant than ever. Despite incredibly promising results from multiple programs, the hospital-at-home model had previously been slow to gain traction in the U.S. But now, the model’s ability to forgo the hospital setting makes it the perfect care model for this particular moment in time, many […]

‘Home Care Is Coming to a Crisis’: Medicaid Cuts to Push Addus Out of Nevada

Addus HomeCare Corporation (Nasdaq: ADUS) has decided to close up shop in Nevada due to recent cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates in the state. Frisco, Texas-based Addus provides a mix of personal care, hospice and home health care services. Prior to shutting down operations in Nevada, the company provided those services to about 43,000 individuals […]

[Updated] AccentCare to Form New Post-Acute Care Business with Fairview Health Services

Home health giant AccentCare Inc. is forming a new post-acute care business, building upon its long-time partnership strategy with large health systems. The Dallas-based AccentCare revealed Tuesday it has been in talks with Fairview Health Services to take over the health system’s home health and hospice business in Minnesota. Under the newly announced deal, AccentCare […]

Home Health Agencies Plan Ahead for Full-Blown RCD Resumption

Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will not immediately pursue a full-blown restart of the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD), a regulatory initiative designed to reduce improper billing in home health care. Instead, CMS outlined how it will move forward with a “phased-in approach” to RCD that gives […]

A Home Health Agency Playbook to Expanding into Medicare Part B

Hoping to create new revenue streams, home health agencies are more frequently turning to Medicare Part B. In fact, some agencies are finding that delivering services under Part B is a natural progression for them. In the case of First Choice Home Health and Hospice, deciding to offer Medicare Part B services was a case […]

Spending on Home Health Care Down 21.6% Under PDGM

Spending on home health care services is down substantially under the Patient-Driven Grouping Model (PDGM), a recently unveiled analysis suggests. While the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 requires PDGM to be budget neutral, spending on home health care has actually been about 21.6% lower than projected, according to a detailed analysis from Dobson DaVanzo & […]

PE Firm Actinium Acquires Central Home Health Services of Texas, Outlines Merger Plans

Actinium Healthcare Holdings — a Dallas, Texas-based private equity firm — has acquired Central Home Health Services of Texas Inc. The PE firm announced the acquisition last week, touting it as a stepping stone toward building a broader health care platform company. The financial terms were not disclosed. Houston, Texas-based Central Home Health Services of […]

Confessions of a Home Health Agency Owner: ‘CMS Is Trying to Put Agencies Like Mine Out of Business’

For decades, home health agencies have learned to operate — and often thrive — in the midst of massive change. But since the start of 2019, that change has felt overwhelming for some agency owners, particularly those who run mom-and-pop businesses with razor-thin margins. Above all, perhaps, the decision by the Centers for Medicare & […]