The debate over minimum wage in the home health care industry continues, as the most recent critics prove to be an unlikely group to criticize the movement: disability rights advocates, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The article follows the Department of Labor’s decision earlier this month to delay enforcement of its new rule extending minimum wage and […]
Category: Medicaid
While Medicare fraud isn’t specific to any one sector of healthcare, it can be a blemish on industries like home health, which ultimately suffer due to a few bad actors. However, implementing several key integrity reform measures can help strengthen federal payers like Medicare from further abusive practices, according to a recent report from the […]
Following a statewide campaign to raise the minimum wage, the Missouri Home Care Union announced Monday it had reached a deal with state negotiators to raise the wage for its home health workers. The collective bargaining agreement set home health care attendants’ wage between $8.50 and $10.15 an hour, less than the $11 proposed minimum […]
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which encompasses 2 million members in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, does not have to pay back more than $34 million in dues collected from thousands of home health care workers who were forced into the union, a Michigan court ruled recently. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled […]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into the operations of a Northeast Ohio home health care agency on suspicions of health care fraud totaling more than $17 million, according to Northern District of Ohio court documents. Filings with the court indicate the FBI is investigating Just Like Familee, a home health care agency […]
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for greater survey frequency for hospices has garnered applause from home health industry advocates. The Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014, which passed the House on September 16, includes provisions mandating that all hospices are surveyed, at a minimum, once every three […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is pushing a “profoundly flawed” system through its proposed changes to the durable medical equipment orthotics, prosthetics and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program, the American Association for Homecare writes in a recent letter to the agency. CMS’ proposed rule seeks to use single payment amounts (SPAs) from […]
Home health care leaders are again vying for Medicare beneficiaries and industry workers, following suggestions that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) further cut funding and keep the “burdensome” face-to-face narrative requirement. The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare expressed disappointment in the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) letter to CMS, which called for […]
In the health care industry’s quest to lower avoidable hospital readmission rates, recent findings by state Medicaid Medical Directors (MMD) now highlight the high costs — and prevalence — of Medicaid readmissions. The 30-day Medicaid readmissions rates for 19 participating states varied, but accounted for an average of 9.4% of all admissions, according to MMD […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule Friday that allows health care providers more flexibility in how they meet meaningful-use guidelines for the EHR Incentive Program reporting period for 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced. Under the final rule, which left a previous proposal in May […]
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