Addressing social determinants of health is especially important for Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries, as they are increasingly affected by a lack of services targeting those needs, which include access to and quality of housing, food and transportation, among other socio-economic factors. That’s according to a recent report from Avalere Health, a Washington, D.C.-based health care […]
Category: Medicaid
At least five states are suing the Trump administration over a recently finalized rule they say would prevent home health workers paid by Medicaid from having their union dues automatically removed from their paychecks, according to Reuters. States involved in the lawsuit include California, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon. The states claim the rule weakens […]
*Editor’s note (4/30/2019): This story has been updated to include comments from Hometeam CEO Randy Klein. Home-based care providers continue to show their support for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) move to better coordinate care for Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. CMS first announced plans to expand coverage options […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans Wednesday to expand coverage options for Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, giving states the freedom to develop their own programs for dual-eligible beneficiaries. While the directive doesn’t outline specific opportunities for home-based care providers, the move is still encouraging for the industry, […]
A program that allows Medicaid users — including seniors — to seamlessly transition back home after a nursing home or institutional care stay could receive a short-term $20 million funding boost. The House recently passed the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act, which provides an extra $20 million in funding for the Money Follows the […]
Despite increased oversight efforts, improper payments under Medicare and Medicaid are costing the federal government billions of dollars, a new report from the watchdog arm of Congress has found. And home health providers appear to be the root of the problem. In fiscal year 2018, improper Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments totaled $31.6 billion for all […]
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is making good on its long-held promise to ramp up oversight of home- and community-based services, requesting an extra $10 million in its fiscal year 2020 budget to tackle fraud, waste and abuse in those areas. The extra funding — which would increase this portion of OIG’s budget […]
When Reena Sharma opened her Long Island, New York-based Homewatch CareGivers franchise location in 2013, the odds were stacked against her. New York was coming out of a moratorium, which froze licensing for new agencies. Though the state’s Department of Health was accepting applications from new home-based care providers, there was a processing backlog, leaving […]
The Trump administration on Monday released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2020, calling for government-wide domestic spending cuts of 5%, a site-neutral payment system for health care providers and a major Medicaid overhaul. The proposed budget — unlikely to make it past a democrat-controlled House of Representatives — also seeks to curb Medicare spending […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced two new pieces of legislation aimed at making it easier — and more financially secure — for seniors and individuals with disabilities to receive care at home. The move is yet another recent example of the high-priority position home-based care has developed on Capitol Hill as America’s […]