During this critical time, Home Health Care News remains committed to bringing you all the essential news related to home-based care operations. At the same time, we also recognize the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our regular content, we’ll continue to highlight industry-related developments and mitigation strategies in this rolling bulletin. What […]
Category: Regulation
A shortage of N95 masks. A dire supply of gloves. Major workforce disruptions. These are just some of the challenges that in-home care providers in the state of New York are already struggling with during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many ways, New York is ground zero for the coronavirus crisis — and a likely reflection […]
So far during the COVID-19 pandemic, much attention has been given to hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, as health care officials look to maximize bed capacity and avoid spreading the virus in long-term care settings. While home health, home care and hospice providers have been called out as key resources in the nation’s response to […]
The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) was one of the largest concerns for the home health industry after it was finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in October 2019. But now that it has been implemented and agencies have faced their boogeyman, confidence under the new payment model is growing, industry insiders […]
In a letter submitted to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) urged regulators to make several sweeping changes that would free up home health providers in their fight against COVID-19. The message to CMS came shortly after the World Health Organization […]
The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) is shaking up the home health industry in a way that hasn’t been seen in years. Now with two months of the payment overhaul under their belt, providers are trying to predict the greater impact PDGM will have on the industry moving forward. Perhaps no one understands that potential impact […]
At Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), phones are ringing off the hook, with smaller home health providers calling the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company to talk about dealmaking opportunities. LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) is experiencing much of the same, so much so that its top executives anticipate “historic” consolidation over the next several months. Elsewhere in […]
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 […]