The GUIDE Model’s Promising Goals For Supporting Caregivers

When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) first announced the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model in late July, there was excitement and an eagerness to learn more from home-based care providers. The goal of the model, according to CMS, is to “support people living with dementia and their unpaid caregivers.” Even […]

CMS Unveils AHEAD Model, Aims To Shift Health Care To ‘Community-Based Settings’

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled a new state-focused demonstration model Tuesday. One of the model’s primary objectives is to shift health care spending and utilization more toward primary and community-based care. The States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model (AHEAD Model) will aim to better address chronic disease, behavioral […]

Exploring The Long-Term Viability Of The SNF-At-Home Model

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, several new at-home care models were thrust into the spotlight. One of the models — skilled nursing facility care at home, or SNF-at-home — gained a lot of attention as traditional SNFs struggled. Enthusiasm for that model has since waned, especially in comparison to others, like hospital at […]

How Home-Based Care Providers Can Harness The Power Of CMS’ New Dementia Care Model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model this week. Stakeholders are already weighing in on how the model may affect home-based care agencies. “We’re very pleased with that announcement, and it is certainly something that we’re going to explore,” Addus HomeCare Corporation (Nasdaq: ADUS) COO […]

‘They’re David Without The Slingshot’: How Small Home Health Providers Can Gear Up For MA Negotiations

Getting to the negotiating table with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and coming away with a good deal is tough enough for even the biggest players in home health care. For smaller providers, it’s an even more daunting and intimidating task. However, there are steps those smaller providers can take in order to become more attractive […]

Consumers Are Driving More Home Care Service Offerings Within Medicare Advantage

When Medicare Advantage (MA) plans began offering expanded supplemental benefits, it opened the door for more engagement with home care providers. Flashforward to 2023, and nearly a quarter of plans are offering some level of in-home support services. That’s according to Tyler Overstreet Cromer, principal at the Washington, D.C.-based research and consulting firm ATI Advisory. […]

With MA Cuts Coming, Home Care Supplemental Benefits Hang In The Balance

Home care providers have complained about Medicare Advantage (MA) becoming a more mainstream payer source. Still, many have begun to work with MA plans for the first time over the past few years. But now, there’s concern that the government’s crackdown on MA could restrict opportunities even further, particularly when it comes to supplemental benefits. […]

MA Plans Continue To Expand Home Care-Friendly Supplemental Benefits

Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began allowing Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to offer supplemental benefits, those benefits’ popularity has skyrocketed. Those benefits, broadly, fall into two categories: Expanded Primarily-Health Related Benefits (EPHRB) and Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI). Their existence alone has changed how home care providers interact […]