Florida became the first state to secure an emergency Medicaid waiver from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help providers maintain operations during the COVID-19 national emergency. If Medicaid-reimbursed personal care services providers are to stay afloat during the ongoing pandemic, several more states will have to follow suit. Generally, states […]
Category: Medicaid
The shutdown of a major nonprofit home care provider in one state has motivated lawmakers to seek emergency action to the tune of $8.5 million. The move is a reminder of how important home-based care has become for state policymakers. Maine State Senator Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, recently announced plans to introduce emergency legislation that, […]
One U.S. state is now being sued over a policy change that has triggered reductions in home care services for some of its Medicaid recipients. The state being targeted is Arkansas. Advocates and legal representatives of those Medicaid recipients argue the reductions are “causing widespread harm.” “The last time [Department of Human Services] provided any […]
Nascentia Health, a home-focused health system based in New York, recently notified its staff that it was forced to lay off 71 employees across 48 counties. The nonprofit, which formerly employed nearly 800 employees, was forced to do so because of New York’s Medicaid cuts. The company estimates that it will lose $400 million from […]
A community health program that tackles socioeconomic determinants of health saved Medicaid roughly $1.4 million, a new study unveiled Monday in the journal Health Affairs has found. The study marks one of the first return-on-investment analyses of just how valuable community-health workers and social-focused health approached truly are. As part of the economic analysis study, […]
The aging population and shortage of caregivers in Arizona has created a near-crisis. The state has responded by pairing its Medicaid program with three insurers in an effort to create a steady long-term care workforce. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) inked contracts with Southwest Catholic Health Network Corp., Banner-University Family Care and United […]
Grandkids-on-demand startup Papa Inc. announced last week that it has paired with Priority Health to begin offering services to the Michigan health plan’s Medicare Advantage members. The move — along with a rework of Papa’s brand — are good indications of the ambitions that the company has in 2020. Only two years old, Papa is […]
HCAOA elects new board president The Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) has elected Emma Dickison as the new president of its board of directors. Washington, D.C.-based HCAOA represents nearly 3,000 companies that employ more than 500,000 caregivers. Dickison brings her background as CEO of Home Helpers Home Care — a company she’s been with […]
A government official in one state is waging war on what he sees as a dearth of home health data. Last week, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand voiced how his office could not accurately provide an analysis on certain services provided by the state’s Medicaid program, including home-based care, a local CBS affiliate reported. Sand reportedly […]
The 2019 fiscal year concluded with the Department of Justice (DOJ) bringing in $2.6 billion in recoveries involving health care fraud and false claims. Home health-related fraud was a large part of these efforts. This marks the 10th consecutive year that the department’s civil health care fraud settlements and judgments have exceeded $2 billion. The […]