Home Care Group Plans CMS Lawsuit Over Home Health Rule

A home care industry trade group is exploring the possibility of filing suit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services if it goes forward with implementing home health care face-to-face requirements under a health care reform provision. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice argues that more guidance and clarity is needed from […]

Industry Group Commends Congress on Home Health Action

Congressional leaders are considering a potential solution to Medicare home health benefits reductions implemented under the Affordable Care Act, to the great relief of home health industry groups including the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare.   The ACA calls for a 14% cut to Medicare home health funding in the next four years, which began […]

Home Health Agencies to Test Palliative Care Under New CMS Program

As many as 30 Medicare-certified home health agencies will test a care model that provides palliative support services in their routine home care offerings, in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 18, 2014, the launch of the “concurrent care” demonstration under […]

Texas Home Care Group Voices Concerns to Congress

A Texas home care and hospice group traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to voice its concerns to Congress regarding the affordability of care services. The Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice joined other industry providers from across the country who are participating in a nationwide appeal for congressional support. “Home care allows families […]

MedPAC Calls for Home Health Cost Cutting, Incentives

A Medicare advisory board is calling for reimbursement cuts to home health agencies with high rates of hospital readmissions.  In its annual report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reiterates recommendations made in 2011 to revise and rebase home health payments. Specifically, the Commission recommends that revising the prospective payment system so that […]

Texas Home Care Association Raises Major Concerns on Obama Budget Proposal

The Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice voiced concerns this week over two major home care provisions in the Obama Administration’s 2015 budget proposal released earlier this month: a home health co-pay and further reimbursement reductions to providers.  The timing of these changes would be problematic, the association said, following a 1% reduction in […]

Obama Budget to Curb DME Medicaid Reimbursement

The Obama Administration’s all-ecompassing 2015 Budget includes provisions that aims to limit Medicaid reimbursement for durable medical equipment (DME) in efforts to reduce federal spending in the coming year and beyond.  One of the main provisions included in the 2015 Budget details using Medicare bid rates under the DME Competitive Bidding Program for Medicaid reimbursement, […]

Obama’s 2015 Budget Proposes $98 Billion More of Home Health Cuts

The home health industry is potentially facing up to nearly $200 billion of reimbursement cuts in the next 10 years.  President Obama’s 2015 budget proposal, released Tuesday, contains home health copayments for Medicare beneficiaries along with cuts to post-acute care provider reimbursements for the next decade.  The proposed budget suggests reducing the Market Basket Index […]

Washington Post: U.S. Faces Impending Shortage of Caregivers

There’s an impending shortage of caregivers in the U.S. at the same time the nation’s aging population is rapidly increasing, writes the Washington Post of a looming “caregiver cliff.”  President Obama during his January State of the Union address called the nation’s millions of family caregivers “humble heroes,” the article notes, while AARP valued unpaid family caregiving […]

Home Health Study Highlights Who Medicare Cuts Will Impact

New analyses on home health beneficiaries highlights suggests older women and minorities will be disproportionately impacted from cuts to Medicare reimbursements stemming from the Affordable Care Act. A majority of home health beneficiaries and caregivers are women, and Medicare home health beneficiaries are among the most vulnerable of all Medicare beneficiaries, finds analysis completed by […]