Encompass Health Looks to Acquire, Take on Payment Reform in 2018

Encompass Health (NSYE: EHC) may have recently checked a major rebranding off its to-do list for 2018, but the home health care provider is still taking on new acquisitions, industry consolidation and payment reform. Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Encompass Health executives summarized their 2018 goals, guidance and challenges. CEO Mark Tarr reiterated […]

CMS Introduces New Bundled Payment Model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday introduced a new alternative payment model, the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced). Home health services would be eligible to be reimbursed under this program. The model, coming out of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, is a voluntary bundled payment program that enables participants […]

Home Health Agencies Anxious Without Final Guidelines for CoPs

Home health care agencies are still waiting on the finalized version of the interpretive guidelines (IGs) for the new conditions of participation (CoPs), which go into effect Jan. 13. The new regulations dictate how home health care agencies qualify to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The CoPs had not been updated in decades prior to 2017. […]

Home Health Stocks Rebound After LHC, Almost Family Announce Merger

Home health stocks climbed upward in November amid news that two of the industry’s biggest players are merging, according to the Home Health Index December update from M&A advisory firm Stoneridge Partners. Louisville, Kentucky-based Almost Family, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFAM) and Lafayette, Louisiana-based LHC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG), vowed to join forces on Nov. 16. The deal, set to close […]

Why There are More Payroll Lawsuits in Home Care

Home health care providers have been hit with several new regulations over the past few years, increasing operational challenges. And with more regulations on the books, some providers are finding themselves on the hook for not being compliant with the latest pay roll practices. Since 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) has mandated that in-home care workers are […]

Home Health Stocks Fell Before HHGM Decision

Home health stocks dipped in October as the industry braced for the then-forthcoming home health groupings model (HHGM) decision, according to the Home Health Index November update from M&A advisory firm Stoneridge Partners. The decision ultimately fell in favor of the home health industry. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule on […]

Almost Family Proposes A Different Groupings Payment Model

The home health care industry was celebrating a recent decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) not to include a controversial payment model in its final prospective payment system (PPS) 2018 update—but there could be another idea on the table for a new payment model. At least one major home health care […]

Kindred Projects Home Health Recovery After Storm-Battered Third Quarter

Buoyed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recent decision to delay the home health groupings model (HHGM), executives at Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) say they see growth ahead in the sector. After taking a financial hit amid the recent natural disasters, Kindred expects annual revenue and admissions growth of 3% to […]

Home Health Stocks Rebound After HHGM Takes Backseat

In the wake of the final 2018 payment rule for home health being released, public companies have seen their stocks skyrocket. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its prospective payment system (PPS) 2018 update final rule on Wednesday without the inclusion of the home health groupings model (HHGM)—a proposed model that would […]

[Updated] CMS Finalizes Home Health Payment Rule Without HHGM

The home health groupings model (HHGM) has been defeated—for now. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for the home health care prospective payment system (PPS) 2018 update without finalizing HHGM, which was proposed to be implemented in 2019. “We are not finalizing the implementation of the Home Health Groupings […]