The home-based care industry is enthusiastically looking forward to progress in the hospital-at-home (HaH) movement. Growth in the HaH model benefits health systems with existing programs, while home health providers are also positioned to gain from the broader adoption of this approach. The HaH movement has gained tremendous popularity since the launch of the Acute […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is ramping up audits of all Medicare Advantage (MA) plans – which could possibly lead to decreased rates for home health providers. CMS’s plan to audit all eligible MA contracts each payment year and expedite audits for payment years 2018 to 2024, announced last […]
Payment rates for at-home care providers have been a major theme of the past week, with the arrival of a final Medicare Advantage (MA) rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and Medicaid remaining in the crosshairs of federal budget action. We also tackled building margin and financial resilience in our latest […]
Home health agencies (HHAs) owned by private equity (PE) firms tend to outperform agencies not owned by PE in certain metrics while lagging in others. That’s according to a recent study by Mohammad Ishtiaque Rahman, an assistant professor of computer information systems at Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The analysis found that HHAs […]
On Nov. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final home health payment rule for 2025, updating Medicare policies and rates for home health agencies. But while the payment-related information grabbed headlines, there are plenty of other changes to home health care within the rule that providers should be paying attention […]
Research has indicated that patients needing care prefer to receive it in their homes rather than in a hospital setting. Health care models like Hospital at Home (HaH) facilitate this preference, but how do providers ensure that patients’ homes are safe for delivering these services? For this evolution to be successful, homes must adapt. They […]
Home care medicine has expanded significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, with increasing demand from patients and improved payment models – in some cases. This shift has increased the need for a larger home-based care workforce, one filled with individuals that understand the ins and outs of treating people in their homes. The number of hospital-at-home […]
The home infusion industry is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing number of aging patients wanting to remain in their homes. However, like many areas of home-based care, reimbursement isn’t keeping up with the cost of care. Driven by an emphasis on cost-effectiveness, containment and the desire for patients to remain at home while […]
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court upended the Chevron doctrine precedent. For home health industry purposes, that means a potentially weakened Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) moving forward. The news comes just two days after the home health proposed payment rule was released, which included significant cuts for the third straight year. Broadly, […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed home health payment rule, released Wednesday, included significant cuts for the third straight year. Those cuts, among other proposed changes, raise questions over the stability of the industry in the coming years. It has providers asking themselves and others the question: “Why us?” For an industry […]
