It has been six months since the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave home health agencies and other Medicare providers a reprieve from having to pay back advance and accelerated payment loans. But recoupment for these loans is just around the corner. To avoid future financial headaches, providers must be prepared to […]
Category: Medicare
An innovative care concept designed to keep patients at home and out of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is reportedly gaining ground in Congress and among special interest groups. The concept — known as “Choose Home” — is a type of SNF-at-home model that leverages both medical and non-medical home care services for certain patients. LHC […]
Margins for Medicare-certified home health agencies are projected to remain strong in 2021, despite ongoing challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Margins are anticipated to be so robust, in fact, that Congress should reduce the 2021 Medicare base payment rate for home health agencies by 5% […]
Despite the once-in-a-generation COVID-19 pandemic, the home health industry’s transition to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) was pretty seamless. Looking into the not-too-distant future, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will now likely attempt to make modest tweaks to a handful of key areas, payment experts believe. The agency will do so […]
Among its many provisions, last year’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act pressed pause on the government’s 2% payment cut to all Medicare-reimbursed health care providers. The “sequestration holiday” was immediately seen as a common-sense lifeline for cash-strapped home health providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of whom had […]
It’s been 48 days since the start of “no-pay RAPs” in home health care. During this time, providers have had to navigate a sea of challenges and unexpected speed bumps while adjusting to the new process. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) kicked off no-pay RAPs on Jan. 1 of this year. […]
Two in-home care providers — ConcertoHealth and Perfect Health — announced Wednesday that their organizations have merged. Together, the companies will operate under the name “ConcertoCare.” Aliso Viejo, California-based ConcertoHealth is a value-based care provider organization that delivers a variety of home-based care services. The company’s teams consist of complex care physicians, complex care nurses, […]
Among payment-related policy changes for the home health industry in 2021 is the elimination of traditional Requests for Anticipated Payment (RAPs) — and the introduction of the “no-pay RAP.” While the change is a potentially costly one for home health agencies, they’re not the only ones struggling to keep up. Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) have […]
Under the Trump administration, federal health care policymakers have long been vocal about the ability of Medicare Advantage (MA) to lower costs and improve outcomes among vulnerable populations. A recent report from the Washington, D.C.-based Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) and consulting firm Avalere Health is now putting hard numbers on that claim, particularly around home […]
At the beginning of the month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule for the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Since then, the rule has drawn criticism for the payment cuts CMS made to home-based primary care visits, a move that experts believe will jeopardize access to care for seniors […]