Industry experts have predicted a rise in home health bankruptcies amid the COVID-19 virus. But home health providers likely won’t be the only ones affected by tighter cash flows and unexpected expenses. Ultimately, there’s likely to be increased bankruptcy filings across health care, particularly in industries such as skilled nursing and senior living. That, in […]
Category: Regulation
From a financial perspective, home health agencies nationwide are struggling to provide care amid the coronavirus. Providers are juggling lower patient volumes and a lack of telehealth reimbursement while also navigating astronomical personal protective equipment (PPE) prices and increased low utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) rates. In New York, those factors and others are expected to […]
VNA Health Group was one of the first home health care agencies to candidly speak about its experience with the coronavirus — and it has been a vocal industry advocate on the topic ever since. President and CEO Dr. Steven Landers detailed some of the organization’s financial and regulatory challenges for Home Health Care News […]
Here’s the situation: Amid the coronavirus, a home health provider needs to figure out how to source enough personal protective equipment (PPE) so that its 3,000 caregivers can serve roughly 9,000 senior patients. While looking for supplies, it must also consider that pricing is 10 times higher than usual and the fact the organization has […]
Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE: EHC) has returned the $237 million in emergency provider relief it received from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the CARES Act. Encompass Health’s move is one many home health providers are considering, as confusion around terms and conditions of the funding has operators fearful of […]
Home health providers were thrilled when they first heard they would be receiving “no strings attached” payments from the Provider Relief Fund, which was mandated by the CARES Act. However, agencies quickly learned that there was more to the story. The grant funding comes with conditions, and confusion around those conditions has some home health […]
As the coronavirus outbreak continues and more states begin the process of reopening, LeadingAge is demanding action from policymakers to help keep seniors and the workers who care for them safe. The advocacy organization — which represents more than 5,000 aging-focused organizations nationwide, including at-home care agencies — is urging lawmakers to equip senior care […]
The coronavirus has shed new light on the importance of home-based care. Even after the virus fades into a painful memory, in-home care will remain firmly rooted in the fabric of the U.S. health care system. At least, that’s what stakeholders like Brent Feorene — executive director of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine […]
Weeks after Medicare providers began receiving their CARES Act relief payments, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is asking states to send in their Medicaid reimbursement data. The move gets the ball rolling for Medicaid providers — including many home health and personal care agencies — to receive relief payments of their own, […]
Coming into 2020, home health care providers were preparing for drastic changes to the way that low-utilization payment adjustments (LUPAs) were calculated, a nuance of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), which took effect Jan. 1. However, what no one predicted is how the coronavirus would even further rock the LUPA landscape. Amid the COVID-19 emergency, […]