‘We’ve Got to Have Set Standards’: Increased Standardization Likely Coming to Home Care

With more eyes than ever on the home care industry, experts are trying to read the tea leaves to determine if greater standardization will eventually follow. Once considered the “youngest kid” in the larger health care continuum, home care has been ushered into the spotlight over the past couple of years. A few things have […]

‘Without a System, You Can’t Win’: Data-Tracking Tips for Home Care Agencies

Despite the operational and financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 virus, hardly any private-duty home care agencies plan on going out of business. Instead, most agency leaders believe they’ll actually grow their business over the next five years, both in terms of census and new locations. That’s according to recent statistics that Home Care Pulse […]

HCAOA’s Vicki Hoak: Home Care Must Take Advantage of Its Moment in the Spotlight

Home-based care agencies and their workers are getting some rare time in the national spotlight during this year’s political cycle. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and VP pick Kamala Harris, for example, have gone out of their way to recognize the work that home-based care workers do on a regular basis. They’ve particularly heralded their […]

HCAOA Throws Support Behind CareAcademy Program to ‘Reskill’ 1M New Caregivers by 2023

Just one month after its original launch with venture capital company Kairos HQ, CareAcademy has expanded its caregiver job placement and training initiative. CareAcademy is a Boston-based training platform for home care professionals. The company currently serves roughly 1,000 home care clients and locations. The company’s “Future of Work is Home Care” program aims to […]

COVID-19 Making a Case for Nationwide Home Care Licensure Requirements

While nursing homes have come under fire for widespread COVID-19 infection outbreaks, home-based care providers have been largely regarded in a more positive light.  Unlike skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and senior living centers, home-based care providers have lower virus transmission risks due to the individual nature of the service delivery. As such, hospitals and families […]

As COVID-19 Cases Mount, National Spotlight Turns to Hazard Pay for Front-Line Workers

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, so has the national conversation surrounding hazard pay for essential front-line workers. Since the coronavirus outbreak began, in-home care workers have helped lead the charge on care delivery, often putting their health and wellness at risk. To reward those workers and encourage them to keep on fighting, many home-based […]

Home-Based Care Advocates Call for Presumptive Eligibility, Direct Care Workers Fund

Securing direct reimbursement for telehealth visits and a Medicare rate increase are among the top advocacy priorities for home health providers during the coronavirus outbreak. While they share some common goals, home-based care providers that predominantly work under Medicaid have priority lists of their own. David Totaro is the chief government affairs officer for Moorestown, […]

Why Home Health Providers Will Need to ‘Spoon-Feed’ Physicians Under PDGM

The home health industry is right on the cusp of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) becoming the new normal. Among its changes, the payment overhaul gets rid of scores of previously acceptable primary diagnosis codes under the Prospective Payment System (PPS). In fact, PDGM has roughly 40% fewer acceptable codes compared to the current payment […]