The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted further flexibility to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to offer more benefits to beneficiaries during the COVID-19 crisis. For home care providers, that could mean more business opportunity. The Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) program was announced in 2019 for the 2020 plan […]
Category: Medicare Advantage
Count Humana Inc.’s chief medical officer (NYSE: HUM) among those who think the coronavirus is accelerating the U.S. health care system’s shift toward the home. Since the COVID-19 outbreak began to ramp up in March, the Louisville, Kentucky-based insurance giant has seen a substantial demand for all sorts of in-home care services, including telehealth-powered primary […]
CareCentrix — a care management company that focuses on home-based care — announced Monday it has acquired palliative care company Turn-Key Health. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hartford, Connecticut-based CareCentrix provides post-acute care services, discharge management, durable medical equipment (DME) and home-based care services. A portfolio company of Consonance Capital Partners, […]
There’s a lot of speculation about what the coronavirus will mean for the Medicare Advantage industry, especially as it relates to home-based care. Some believe it could mean more MA opportunities for at-home care providers in 2021 — or even sooner, as CMS recently announced that plans can provide mid-year benefit enhancements in response to […]
Non-medical home care providers hoping to break into the Medicare Advantage (MA) space have been attentively watching for signs of how plans will respond to the coronavirus. While some believe the COVID-19 virus will throw a wrench into MA home care opportunities, others believe the current public health emergency will only accelerate plans pushing into […]
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the Medicare Advantage (MA) landscape looked like a promising business opportunity for in-home care providers. That was, in part, thanks to two major expansions of MA supplemental benefits in 2018 and 2019. But the U.S. is now more than a month removed from a coronavirus public health […]
In 2019, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans were given clearance to offer extended health-related services and benefits to certain chronically ill enrollees starting in 2020. The move doubled down on a similar MA expansion announced in 2018. While the 2019 and 2018 updates were separate, they both created potential MA opportunities for in-home care providers. Providers […]
Alignment lands $135 million in Series C Medicare Advantage (MA) startup Alignment Healthcare has deepened its pockets. The Orange, California-based MA player announced March 4 that it has raised $135 million in Series C funding, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. Additional funding came from funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates […]
Denver-based Homewatch CareGivers is already one of the biggest franchise brands in home care. But it still wants to be bigger. Overall, the PE-backed Homewatch CareGivers added 17 locations in 2019, and it plans to add at least 22 more this year. It currently has over 200 locations spread across the U.S. Its parent company, […]
Finding new ways to address the social determinants of health has become somewhat of a calling card for Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM). This time around, the company announced a new program that reimburses health systems for referring Medicare Advantage members to social services. Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana is both a payer and in-home care provider. Its […]