A proposed new system for tying home health Medicare payments to quality measures is too burdensome on providers and should be streamlined, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) stated in a letter to policymakers. MedPAC advises Congress on Medicare policy and it is viewed as an influential panel of experts, although lawmakers are not obliged […]
Category: Home Health Care
Efforts to reduce unnecessary hospital visits fall not only on home health agencies these days, but also on more untraditional in-home care providers: paramedics. In some areas, they are proving their value by serving hundreds of patients in their own homes and preventing dozens of hospital visits annually. A mobile health paramedic pilot program at […]
For doctors, having a difficult conversation with seriously ill patients and their families about end-of-life care can be understandably complicated, and physicians and the provider organizations they work with are looking for the best resources to help. These conversations are important not only because the right decisions for end-of-life care can make a huge difference […]
Home heath workers report higher levels of satisfaction with their jobs when they feel respected and valued by their superiors and the agency as a whole, while hourly wage doesn’t necessarily denote workplace satisfaction, according to a survey analysis published late last week. The research aims to pinpoint factors that influence a home health worker’s job […]
More than 100 home health agencies are participating in the second phase of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiative aimed at bundling payments to streamline care from different providers, putting themselves at financial risk by doing so. The so-called Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative, an approach that groups payments for multiple […]
The leader of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is in a positive frame of mind following recent oral arguments in the organization’s lawsuit against the federal Medicare agency over the so-called “face-to-face” rule. If NAHC succeeds in pressing its case, home health agencies may be paid a large portion of the […]
Here are the top headlines grabbing readers’ attention this week, plus other notable stories from around the web that caught our eye here at HHCN: Most Read In These Tech-Savvy Cities, It Pays to Age at Home – Redfin ranked the top 10 cities where smartphone applications are enabling older adults to stay in their […]
A series of whistleblower cases over how Medicare Advantage plans utilize in-home health assessments to set their payment rates has raised concerns over poor government oversight. Filed in 2014 and unsealed by the federal court in Dallas in June, the case against CenseoHealth LLC is one of several such suits filed in the past five […]
From new hires and partnerships to office relocations, here’s a round-up of the latest home health care news: Homecare Homebase Moves Offices to Expand Homecare Homebase is planning to move its existing Louisville office to a new location and add to its current staff. The hospice and home care software provided plans to add 71 […]
On the heels of a landmark month for home health investments in June, one measure of home health company performance has set another record high in July. Following an 11% uptick in June, the Stoneridge Partners Home Health Index showed another 9% increase last month, amounting to a year to date increase to more than […]