The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on evaluating providers’ compliance with the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers. Although CMS originally published the interim final rule in November, it posted the guidance for state survey agency directors on Tuesday. Broadly, the guidance applies to providers working under the […]
Category: Medicare
Medicare-certified home health providers are falling short when it comes to the amount of care services they’re offering, a new survey released Thursday from the Center For Medicare Advocacy (CMA) suggests. “Our surveys confirmed what we, unfortunately, hear all the time at [CMA], either directly from the beneficiaries, family members or friends who’ve tried to […]
A new analysis from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that health care spending in the U.S. increased 9.7% to $4.1 trillion in 2020. And home health care, in particular, experienced robust spending growth. The retrospective analysis – which details a truly unprecedented year in health […]
The measurements used to track the home health industry could use some updating to better align perception with reality, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). And interestingly enough, access may be one of the rare occasions where on-the-ground evidence tells a truer story than available data. “The access to home health appears to […]
The Senate on Thursday voted 59-35 to pass a bill delaying statutory cuts to the Medicare program. The House passed its own version of the legislation on Dec. 7. Specifically, the bill extends a “holiday” around Medicare sequestration, which translates to a 2% cut for home health agencies and other Medicare-reimbursed providers. Once President Joe […]
Home health stakeholders that have been on pins and needles about the return of possible Medicare cuts saw the first step toward securing further delay on Tuesday. By a vote of 222-212, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that delays 6% in Medicare cuts set to go into effect Jan. 1. Specifically, the […]
Both chambers of Congress passed legislation this week to keep the government funded through Feb. 18. Home health agencies and other Medicare stakeholders are worried, however, about a potential 6% cut that could be coming down the pike. The cuts come in the form of Medicare sequestration and PAYGO. Signed into law in August 2011, […]
First it was the COVID-19 vaccination mandate from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Now, it’s the one from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Since OSHA and CMS released their interim emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for certain individuals, each has been challenged in court. On Monday, a federal judge […]
Home health operators have to navigate numerous regulatory and policy changes to stay in business. Two major ones surfaced within days of each other last week. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the home health final payment rule on Nov. 2, then the federal government announced COVID-19 vaccination requirements for health […]
Now that the final home health payment rule for 2022 has been floating around for a few days, industry insiders have had time to pick it apart and zero in on key changes, including the nationwide expansion of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model. A significant difference between the finalized expansion of HHVBP and […]
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