CMS Releases Vaccine Mandate Guidance for Home Health Providers

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on evaluating providers’ compliance with the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers. Although CMS originally published the interim final rule in November, it posted the guidance for state survey agency directors on Tuesday. Broadly, the guidance applies to providers working under the […]

CMS Vaccine Mandate Blocked in 10 States

First it was the COVID-19 vaccination mandate from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Now, it’s the one from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Since OSHA and CMS released their interim emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for certain individuals, each has been challenged in court. On Monday, a federal judge […]

HouseWorks Enters the Medicaid Personal Care Sector with Connected Home Care Acquisition

HouseWorks announced Thursday that it has signed an agreement to acquire Connected Home Care, a home care provider that operates in Eastern Massachusetts. The Connected Home Care acquisition comes just one week after HouseWorks’ announced it purchased Atlantic Homelife Senior Care, a private home care provider that operates in Seacoast New Hampshire and Southern Maine. […]

1 in 5 Adults Needs Ongoing Support for Activities of Daily Living

Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) are the latest U.S. leaders to go to bat for home- and community-based services (HCBS), with the pair highlighting caregiving investments in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan during a Thursday town hall. Negotiations over Build Back Better, a package which includes multiple types of […]

‘There’s a Lot of Unmet Need’: Addressing Long HCBS Waitlists

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are a way to fill gaps in care for seniors with complex medical conditions, with Medicaid being the main source of coverage for long-term services and supports (LTSS). As of 2020, over 2.5 million individuals received HCBS services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Still, there are hundreds of […]

InnovAge CEO Maureen Hewitt: PACE Tailwinds Stronger Than Ever

InnovAge (Nasdaq: INNV) went public earlier this year with a $350 million IPO. It has since set its sights on expansion. The largest Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organization in the country, InnovAge is bullish on its ability to do just that, thanks to both internal confidence and also external, regulatory tailwinds. […]

Increasing LTSS Access Could Cost Up to $12.8 Billion Per Year

Access to long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the U.S. remains limited, which currently puts seniors in need in a bind. Their options are often such: spend down on savings and assets in order to qualify for Medicaid, or rely on unpaid family care or other informal services. A new study from the Washington, D.C.-based […]

38 States Have Increased HCBS Payments During the Pandemic

To keep vulnerable Americans at home and out of riskier long-term care settings during the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave states an unprecedented ability to temporarily modify their Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs. But while the emergency waivers issued by CMS helped limit the spread of the […]