Birmingham, Alabama-based Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE: EHC) — already one of the largest home health providers in the country — is likely on its way to even more growth this year, thanks partly to the expected M&A opportunities linked to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Internally, coding changes and investments in predictive analytics have helped […]
Immediately following the Oct. 1 rollout of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), news broke about widespread therapy staff layoffs throughout the skilled nursing industry. The layoffs have continued — at a staggering pace — in the months since. While PDPM is inherently different than the home health industry’s upcoming Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), the reimbursement […]
No shockers here: The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) was the big story in 2019. The most widely read Home Health Care News story from the past year was a PDGM-focused conversation between the leaders of Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) and Encompass Health’s (NYSE: EHC) home health division. Now just days […]
Home health industry insiders throughout 2019 have frequently speculated on the “carnage” likely to take place next year when the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) pushes smaller, ill-equipped agencies out of business. Generally, the narrative goes something like this: As the biggest overhaul to home health reimbursement in two decades, PDGM will significantly disrupt agency cash […]
By eliminating visit-volume thresholds and tying reimbursement more closely to need, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) will likely steer the home health care industry away from therapy and toward nursing. Although PDGM officially starts on Jan. 1, home health providers have already begun to shift their therapy utilization strategies to better line up with the […]
The Medicare fee-for-service improper payment rate has fallen once again, thanks largely to the cleaner paperwork and ongoing compliance efforts of U.S. home health providers. Despite clear and steady progress in bringing improper payment rates down, though, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is unlikely to relax its oversight anytime soon, industry leaders […]
With a focus on institutional referrals and changes to therapy reimbursement, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) is going to rock the Medicare-certified home health world in 2020. But private-pay and non-medical home care agencies may also see bottom-line impacts tied to PDGM. Specifically, PDGM will likely create new opportunities for home care agencies looking to […]
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 […]
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 […]