The Biden-Harris administration announced in September that all U.S. health care workers would be required to get vaccinated as part of its six-pronged national COVID-19 strategy. Since then, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been putting together its guidance to help steer that process. The agency released its interim emergency regulation […]
Among its many provisions, last year’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act pressed pause on the government’s 2% payment cut to all Medicare-reimbursed health care providers. The “sequestration holiday” was immediately seen as a common-sense lifeline for cash-strapped home health providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of whom had […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday touted several tools designed to help states rebalance their long-term care ecosystem toward home- and community-based services. The development is the latest in a series of CMS efforts aimed at strengthening home- and community-based services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ultimate goal of […]
Across the country, home health nurses and therapists continue to struggle with restrictions around seeing their patients in nursing homes, assisted living communities and other long-term care facilities. Unfortunately, those restrictions aren’t likely to go away anytime soon, especially when it comes to facilities located in Sun Belt states. According to a new report from […]
In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, non-medical home care providers — often called the “eyes and ears in the home” — are solidifying their position as a part of the larger health care continuum. Over the past few decades, the health care sector has seen SARS, H1N1 and a number of other outbreaks […]
As they respond to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak, home health providers and their post-acute care brethren are left in the dark with a number of unanswered questions. The greatest mystery, of course, still revolves around the alarmingly high danger COVID-19 poses specifically to older, sicker adults. Normally, seasonal influenza and other viruses operate on a […]
Major home health provider groups have penned a letter opposing a value-based purchasing bill. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and other members of the post-acute care community wrote the letter to Kevin Brady (R-TX), chairman of House Ways & Means, Pat Tiberi (R-OH), chairman of the Health Subcommittee and Congressman Ron Kind […]
Home health leaders at a recent Congressional hearing voiced strong support of proposed legislation to revamp the Medicare post-acute payment system, but the role of care coordinators emerged as a sticking point for other provider types and some lawmakers. Patient-centered care coordination is essential to improving post-acute care and should be a centerpiece of payment […]
Legislation to replace Medicare’s controversial Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) now has been signed into law. While some concerns regarding reimbursements linger, the home health community largely commends Congress. The bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act legislation to repeal the long-standing SGR, colloquially known as the “doc fix,” was signed Thursday by President Barack Obama, following […]
Home health care issues may gain more attention from federal lawmakers thanks to a newly formed caucus that was announced this week, which includes lawmakers from both major parties and both houses of Congress. The Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) caucus was formed by Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Reps. Diane Black […]
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