A bill that would eliminate Medicare’s physician-certification policy has drawn industry-wide support. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may first opt to test non-physician certification through Medicare Advantage (MA) in lieu of traditional Medicare. The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2019 — H.R. 2150 — was introduced in April. If […]
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 […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday finalized the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) for 2020, in addition to its plan to phase out home health pre-payments and introduce a new home infusion therapy benefit. But perhaps the biggest news for U.S. home health providers is a major update to PDGM’s widely opposed […]
In September, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled a new final rule regarding discharge planning requirements for hospitals and home health providers. The new rule, industry leaders say, will likely create a much needed paradigm shift in the discharge planning process. CMS’s discharge planning rule includes a number of changes that aim […]
Bayada Home Health Care and Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNAHG) have agreed to join forces, the mission-driven nonprofits announced Monday. Strategic partnerships with hospitals and health systems are among the drivers of the move, leaders from the two organizations told Home Health Care News. Under an agreement that’s expected to be finalized by November, […]
With just five full months to go before the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) becomes a reality, home health providers have reached crunch time. As it has been all along, the assumption-based behavioral adjustment baked into PDGM remains the home health industry’s No. 1 issue. Orginally, the behavioral adjustment was estimated to create a 6.42% payment […]
With its recent transition to a nonprofit model, Bayada Home Health Care has been busy. Since the 2016 announcement, the company found a new CEO in David Baiada, gifted $20 million to employees and hit one million clients served, just to name a few highlights. Next up for the billion-dollar home-based care provider? Finding new […]
As part of its Patients Over Paperwork initiative and as a way to make home health requirements more consistent with other settings of care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to allow therapist assistants to furnish maintenance therapy. Under current home health rules, only physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs) and […]
Bayada Home Health Care — one of the largest and oldest home health providers in the country — has hit the 1 million mark in terms of clients served. On the heels of this major milestone, the Moorestown, New Jersey-based company is positioning itself to tackle Medicaid reimbursement rates moving forward. “Serving our millionth client […]
Home care has a huge immigrant workforce, so policies restricting immigration may only worsen recruitment and retention problems, providers and researchers warn. Across the board, the health care sector often relies on immigrant labor — especially for the care of older adults. In fact, immigrants accounted for more than 18% of U.S. health care workers […]