In a letter submitted to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) urged regulators to make several sweeping changes that would free up home health providers in their fight against COVID-19. The message to CMS came shortly after the World Health Organization […]
People Power, a health care technology company, recently launched a new research project with the University of California, Berkeley. The goal of the project is to help caregivers provide better care for seniors with dementia. To do so, the project grants caregivers access to a tool called Presence Caregiver, a motion-sensor caregiving system. While People […]
As they respond to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak, home health providers and their post-acute care brethren are left in the dark with a number of unanswered questions. The greatest mystery, of course, still revolves around the alarmingly high danger COVID-19 poses specifically to older, sicker adults. Normally, seasonal influenza and other viruses operate on a […]
After days of issuing updated guidance for skilled nursing operators and other Medicare providers regarding COVID-19, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is now turning its attention to home health agencies. CMS issued home health guidance related to infection control and prevention for COVID-19 — often referred to as the coronavirus — […]
Federal policymakers, home health providers, insurers and other health care stakeholders continue to call attention to the benefits of telehealth amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak. But actions speak louder than words. Last week, the U.S. Senate approved an $8.3 billion bill targeting the COVID-19 virus. In addition to emergency funding, the bill stripped away certain […]
There is a significant gap between the number of U.S. adults who want to age in place and those who actually believe they will be able to do so. That’s according to a new national survey involving 2,750 U.S. adults conducted by Edelman Intelligence on behalf of Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), a product […]
As the national concern over COVID-19 — the coronavirus — continues to grow, U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require all employers to provide paid sick leave to workers. If passed, the bills would likely place a bigger squeeze on the country’s home-based care providers, which often operate on razor-thin profit margins. On Friday, […]
U.S. stocks plunged Monday as investors responded to the global spread of the coronavirus and Saudi Arabia’s surprising oil price cut. Publicly traded home health providers were not immune to the market’s downswing. By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had plummeted 8% and was well on its way to its worst day since 2008. […]
Six months into the new payment model for skilled nursing providers, the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is proving to be more costly than the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) initially anticipated. PDPM claims patterns could give home health providers a glimpse of what’s in store with the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Broadly, PDPM […]
On Thursday, the Senate approved a bill that will provide $8.3 billion in emergency funds to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19, otherwise known as the coronavirus. Apart from funding, the bill made major changes to telehealth statutes, possibly allowing home-based care providers to both rely heavier on telehealth tools and be properly reimbursed for […]