The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began sending emails last week to notify patients of the impending Round 2 of its Competitive Bidding program. CMS also sent emails to providers of home medical equipment (HME), notifying them that the agency would also be reaching out to patients, HME Business reports. The messages describe […]
Category: Regulation
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued a final rule that amends its payment regulation for non-VA providers to include providers of home health and hospice services. Effective November 15, 2013, non-Va home health and hospice providers that do not have a negotiated contract with the VA will be paid the lowest Medicare rate […]
Hospices would receive a payment increase of $180 million for fiscal year 2014 under a new proposed rule issued Monday. The payment boost would translate into a 1.1% increase in federal Medicare payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as a result of a 0.7% reduction in wage index changes and a 1.8% […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that home health claims that list an attending physician without a PECOS enrollment record will not be denied for the time being, reports Decision Health (DH). The announcement from CMS arrived via an email message to Medicare providers April 25. CMS had planned to implement an […]
The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) commended members of the Senate Finance Committee for urging regulators to increase efforts to combat Medicare waste, fraud and abuse. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) are urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement a moratorium on the installment […]
A recently proposed bill will grant health care providers in Washington state legal immunity to honor the last wishes of elderly patients. If approved by the full legislature, the “do not resuscitate” bill will close a loophole for senior care providers, according to the Seattle Times. In states like Washington, facilities that care for seniors—such […]
A chairwoman of the Assembly Committee on Aging & Long-Term Care as introduced a bill that establishes regulations for private home care agencies. Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada introduced the Home Care Services Act of 2013, which she believes outlines clear standards for training and background checks for home caregivers, reports the Daily Democrat (DD). The bill, […]
Baby boomers look to reap greater benefits than from the Affordable Care Act than before, as the federal government initiates changes to the health care law in coming years, reports USA Today. As unemployment and rising health care costs have shrunk many retirement funds among many aging Americans, the recession looks to have impacted boomers […]
Patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) while striving to improve patient outcomes, simultaneously seek to reduce health care costs, according to the New York Law Journal (NYLJ). Usually led by a physician, patients in a PCMH model have an ongoing relationship with their doctor and a team that is collectively responsible for patient care. A PCMH is […]
The Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) and the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging are gathering long-term services and supports experts for a discussion on personal care aide (PCA) training next month in Washington, D.C. as the industry seeks to establish some guidelines for the rapidly expanding sector. During the briefing, Dr. Dorie Seavy, PHI’s director […]
Subscribe
Receive industry updates and breaking news from HHCN