Earlier this week, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators released a “secret list” of nursing homes under consideration for placement on the federal government’s roster of properties with serious quality issues. Maintained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the list features more than 400 nursing homes that are “candidates” for the Special […]
CMS
To fine-tune operations ahead of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) with the hopes of maximizing reimbursement, many home health providers have shifted their referral focus to institutional settings. But there are also substantial dollars tied to patients’ co-morbidities, an idea that has largely fallen by the wayside when it comes to PDGM preparation. “It’s somewhat […]
As currently structured, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) will completely change how and when home health providers deliver therapy services. It will do so in multiple ways, most notably by eliminating the use of therapy service thresholds as a factor in payment determinations. It’s a move the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has long recommended. […]
LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) has turned its cornerstone joint venture strategy up a notch in the early part of 2019, a decision that helped propel the Lafayette, Louisiana-based home health giant to a steady first quarter. JVs will continue to play a leading role as LHC Group readies itself for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model […]
Current Health — makers of an artificial intelligence-powered wearable remote patient monitoring platform — cleared a major regulatory hurdle last month in securing FDA approval. The U.K.-based technology startup now has its sights set on expanding throughout the U.S. market, largely by helping home health agencies adapt to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and by […]
Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) has long been a home health powerhouse. Under the leadership of CEO Paul Kusserow, however, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based provider is steadily building expansive hospice and personal care footprints as well. For proof, look no further than the industry-shaping Compassionate Care Hospice deal for $340 million. Part of Amedisys’s hospice-centric strategy […]
Health care policymakers on Monday unveiled a new voluntary risk-based initiative designed to reward physicians who keep patients at home and away from hospitals. Based upon the work of previous administrations, the new initiative marks a major inflection point for the value-based transformation of the U.S. health care system, according to Department of Health and […]
Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund — which helps pay for Medicare Part A services, including in-patient hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice and home health care services — is set to go broke by 2026, Trump administration officials reported Monday. What’s more, if current utilization and financial projections prove accurate, the vast majority of home health […]
Geographic alignment and outside-of-the-box thinking are among the qualities Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) values from its prospective home care partners in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. An ability to demonstrate the value of in-home care services through data and evidence is also important, Martin Esquivel, vice president of Medicare product development for Indianapolis-based Anthem, told Home […]
The overall economic burden associated with diabetes, heart disease, dementia and other chronic medical conditions in the United States now adds up to more than $4.5 trillion, a new report has found. While already staggering, that economic burden is projected to double within the next three decades as well, propelled by the wave of aging […]