In the wee hours of Friday morning, after an all night session, the Senate confirmed Rep. Tom Price M.D (R-GA) as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Several industry organizations like the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare and the American Health Care Association (AHCA)/ National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) are […]
HHS
As government leadership continues to transition amid ongoing confirmation hearings in Congress, the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who is likely to be confirmed by the Senate soon, provided some reassurance during a Senate hearing of the value of home-based services. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), who has been nominated […]
Technology is transforming the home care industry, but it hasn’t been easy to prove exactly how certain technology like telehealth and remote monitoring will help patient outcomes. However, there are now solid, research-backed tactics home care agencies can implement to increase positive health outcomes. To see positive impacts of technology, home care companies need to focus […]
It will be impossible to follow a federal court order to clear a huge Medicare appeals backlog by 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says. The HHS filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking the court to reconsider its Dec. 5 ruling because the department will […]
In a victory to health care providers waiting on lengthy appeals decisions, a federal judge ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to eliminate its backlog of Medicare appeals claims in the next few years. The order comes after a damning report revealed a shockingly large backlog of Medicare claims appeals cases, with […]
A leading critic of a wildly unpopular home health regulation may soon be in a position to get rid of it entirely, as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In late September, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) introduced a bill to hit pause on the Pre-Claim Review (PCR) demonstration; PCR had […]
Kindred Completes Acquisition of Arkansas Department of Health Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) has completed the previously announced agreement to acquire the in-home health care operations from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) for approximately $39 million. Kindred reached an agreement with ADH after a large amount of skepticism from some Arkansans following a state bidding process. […]
After a damning report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the rising number of Medicare claims appeals and the resulting dramatic backlog of unresolved cases, the latest proposed changes to clear out the backlog have appeared. Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) process an estimated 1.2 billion fee-for-service claims on behalf of the Centers for […]
President Obama has signed the Older Americans Reauthorization Act (OAA) into law, reestablishing funding levels for many services that enable millions of older adults to remain in their homes through retirement. The legislation provides funding for critical services including Meals on Wheels, transportation, caregiver support, legal services, elder abuse protection and more, for the next […]
The way home health agencies are reimbursed by Medicare could soon change, as members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to move ahead with an overhaul of the current payment system for post-acute care settings. The commission recommends to Congress how much providers should receive in Medicare payments every year, but the commission’s […]


