With less than two months left on the clock before home health agencies take their shot at the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), questions regarding industry preparedness and education continue to swirl. Some, however, say those questions are better aimed at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Similar to home health providers, CMS regulators […]
The cost of in-home care is rising faster than any other long-term care setting, according to recent data from insurance firm Genworth Financial. With that in mind, it shouldn’t be all too surprising that a sizeable portion of Medicare beneficiaries have a serious problem paying home care bills. In a national survey of more than […]
LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) — one of the two largest, independent home health, hospice and personal care companies in the U.S. — has hit a major milestone in its 25-year history. The Lafayette, Louisiana-based company officially crossed the 100,000-patient mark. In addition to being a personal achievement for Chairman and CEO Keith Myers — whose […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2020 home health final payment rule on Oct. 31, reaffirming many aspects of next year’s payment overhaul while also updating certain quality reporting metrics and solidifying changes to policymakers’ maintenance therapy proposal. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and Axxess were among […]
The recently finalized home infusion benefit from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has created moderate excitement within the home health community, with some providers seeing newfound opportunities to expand their business offerings. Those who currently provide home infusion services, however, have called CMS’s new benefit “deeply flawed.” CMS finalized a permanent home […]
Home health providers looking to bet the farm that the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) goes through in its current form should be warry, industry executives say. Although it’s important to adjust to the upcoming payment overhaul, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has a history of changing its tune after regulatory actions trigger […]
Despite all the uncertainty swirling around the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), at least one thing is clear: The home health industry is going to look very different a year from now. Come October 2020, the home health space will likely have witnessed a noticeable consolidation from the roughly 11,000 or so freestanding agencies that exist […]
There’s a flood of changes surging toward the U.S. home health care industry. But thanks to widespread recognition, improved quality and staunch advocacy efforts, providers have never been standing on higher ground. That was the key message delivered by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) leadership Sunday during the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit […]
The post-acute care sector is still a long ways away from the implementation of a unified payment system, but the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) may be a step in that direction. That’s according to Harvard Medical School professor David Grabowski. As a professor in the department of health care policy, Grabowski’s work is concentrated on […]
With a shared goal of shifting more care into the home and improving patient health outcomes at a lower overall cost, hospital-at-home programs and at-home care providers are natural allies. But there are a number of hurdles that stand in the way of partnership opportunities truly taking off. Broadly, hospital-at-home programs attempt to provide acute, […]