Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s choice to take the helm of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), faced questions on Capitol Hill about his stance on future cuts to Medicaid. These are cuts that could result in reduced access to Medicaid-funded home and community-based services. On Friday, Oz testified before the Senate […]
Category: Medicare Advantage
On Tuesday, post-acute care leaders and advocates testified before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means regarding the importance of home health care. During the health subcommittee hearing titled “After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care,” Empath President and CEO Jonathan Fleece and Dr. Dana Madison, owner of BSA Compassion Home Care, […]
The move to exit its previous Medicare Advantage agreement with UnitedHealthcare, as well as the hurricanes that struck the United States last fall, contributed to a Q4 loss for Enhabit Home Health & Hospice (NYSE: EHAB), but the company’s leaders are gearing up for 2025 with a strategy for growth. In the fourth quarter, Enhabit […]
UnitedHealthcare is eliminating prior authorization requirements for certain home health services provided under Medicare Advantage plans as part of a larger push to cut prior authorization volume by 10% this year. Effective April 1, 2025, the insurance giant—part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG)—will no longer require prior authorization or concurrent review processes for home health […]
Amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) legal battle with UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG) regarding the planned purchase of Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED), the company is also now reportedly facing an investigation for a different matter. The DOJ is currently pursuing a civil fraud investigation focused on the company’s practices for recording diagnoses that activate extra […]
Recent developments in the legal battle over the planned $3.3 billion UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG) acquisition of Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) have moved the case closer to trial and shed more light on how UnitedHealth and Amedisys are pursuing divestments and defending the transaction. First, UnitedHealth dropped its motion to dismiss the case, saying that the […]
End-of-life home health care use and duration are lower among Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees compared to traditional Medicare enrollees across nearly all populations. This is especially true among Hispanic people and people identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander, according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers found that […]
Last year, many major Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations released previews of what benefits they planned to offer seniors this year. Many of these organizations have moved away from offering plans that include home-based care services. In fact, ATI Advisory found that fewer MA plans were offering benefits, such as in-home services and support, as well […]
Despite initial challenges, 2025 appears promising for home health providers, as indicated by industry experts in Home Health Care News’s recent webinar, Home Health Outlook 2025. During the discussion, experts addressed several key issues, including Medicare Advantage (MA) reimbursement rates, labor shortages and improved technology integration. The panel also explored future risk-sharing opportunities and highlighted […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2026 plans to raise payments to Medicare Advantage plans by 4.3% in 2026. CMS has issued an advance notice of policy changes for Medicare Advantage and Part D that would install technical updates, including to the ways the agency calculates payments to health plans. “CMS […]