Despite the benefits of telehealth services, the general lack of reimbursement under Medicare has created persistent roadblocks when it comes to widespread adoption among U.S. home health providers. Over the past several years, telehealth services have proven their value when it comes to improving access to care for patients and lowering overall health care costs. […]
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) is sponsoring a resolution to once again amplify aging-related issues through the Permanent Select Committee on Aging. The committee would aim to better address various issues that affect seniors, such as housing, long-term care and poverty, among others. A lot of the panel’s focus on its first near 20-year run […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may have to get creative if it wants to avoid the formation of home health deserts in 2020 and beyond. One possible solution: revisiting the current six-year overpayment lookback rule. As part of its efforts to curb fraud, waste and abuse, CMS finalized a rule in […]
Over the past few months, there have been dozens of anecdotal examples of home health agencies cutting back on therapy, whether that’s in the form of layoffs, visit reductions or converting full-time therapists to PRN status. In these examples, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and Medicare reimbursement changes are often cited as the trigger. Home […]
Similar to all Medicare-certified home health providers, CHI Health at Home has spent the past several months developing and executing on its Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) Strategy. The Milford, Ohio-based integrated care provider has at least one unique advantage over its peers, however. CHI Health at Home is part of CommonSpirit, the $29 billion health […]
Earlier this month, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) teamed up on a new joint venture aimed at expanding access to value-based primary care for Medicare patients. Under the JV agreement, Humana and WCAS will commit upwards of $600 million to build 50 new Partners in Primary Care (PiPC) centers […]
The Trump administration released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2021 on Monday. In addition to doubling down on the administration’s efforts aimed at reducing Medicare fraud, waste and abuse, the proposal touts savings tied to a potential unified payment system for post-acute care providers. Overall, the White House budget proposal seeks to curb spending […]
Therapy layoffs, conversions to part-time status and general service reductions are beginning to ramp up in the home health space, multiple professional association groups told Home Health Care News. So much so, in fact, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may be preparing to speak up. The current shift in how and […]
Physical therapy (PT) has the ability to improve activities of daily living (ADLs) and functional ability for Medicare home health beneficiaries with dementia, a recent study published by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has found. The findings stand as a reminder of the value of PT services, despite ongoing changes under the Patient-Driven […]
Thanks to leadership changes at the federal level, the evolution of Medicare Advantage (MA) and a seemingly constant flow of new value-based payment models, providers should begin to plan for the end of fee-for-service Medicare. That’s according to LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Bruce Greenstein, who discussed the future of […]