The Public Health Emergency’s End Will Mark ‘Significant’ Change For Home Health Providers

Now that the public health emergency (PHE) is ending, home health stakeholders are taking stock of what ripple effects will impact the industry most. The Trump Administration first declared the PHE in March of 2020, retroactive to Jan. 27, 2020. In January, the Biden administration announced that the PHE would end on May 11. Broadly, […]

CMS Medicaid Proposals Offer Transparency And Accountability, But Compensation Provision Could Cap Business For Cash-Strapped Providers

On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new rule that would make major changes to the way that home care workers are compensated under Medicaid. While home-based care stakeholders recognize that the proposal could lead to some improvements, many are critical of what they view as a one-size-fits-all approach […]

As States Negotiate Budgets, Biden’s Executive Order Puts Home-Based Care At The Forefront

In tandem with an executive order, the White House announced a bevy of directives for government agencies on Tuesday, many of which were centered around bettering home-based care. Perhaps most notable is the timing, however. As states work through their budgets and potential Medicaid spending, the Biden administration has put home care at the forefront […]

3 Ways To Modernize Medicare’s Home Health Benefit

Home health stakeholders often talk about the need to modernize the Medicare home health benefit. What they are often getting at is the need to make it easier for providers to deliver crucial care, while, in turn, creating better access to care. “We constantly need to be thinking about what’s ahead, how to improve this […]

How The Public Health Emergency Helped Cut Regulatory Red Tape For Home Health Agencies

With the public health emergency (PHE) set to finally end on May 11, home health stakeholders are finding that the impact won’t be as disruptive as once feared. This is because most of the biggest issues have already been addressed by Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). “Congress addressed the face-to-face […]

While Other Home-Focused Legislation Waits, Better Care Better Jobs Act Gets New Life

Lawmakers are hoping for success the second time around. On Thursday, Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and a host of other cosponsors reintroduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act into the Senate. The other lawmakers included Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), energy and commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA.) […]

4 Big Questions For Home Health, Home Care In 2023

Home health and home care operators grappled with numerous challenges in 2022 that impacted their businesses, from COVID-19 cases spiking due to the Omicron variant in the first quarter to labor pressures persisting throughout the year. For many providers, those headwinds turned their attention to maintaining growth, fine-tuning existing operations and avoiding loss, with service-line […]

What Home-Based Care Leaders Should Know About The $1.66 Trillion Spending Bill

The proposed $1.66 trillion omnibus government funding bill – which is expected to pass through the U.S. House and Senate this week – includes multiple home-based care provisions of importance. Among those is new home health payment transparency language, an extension of the rural add-on, a separate extension of the Money Follows the Person program […]

Despite Staffing Challenges, HCBS Interest Remains Strong Among Senior Living Providers

In the last year, home- and community-based service offerings either stayed relatively flat or dipped among most of the largest nonprofit senior living providers.  While senior living providers remain generally committed to these services, they have been tough to manage due to various factors, namely staffing woes. That and other takeaways are according to the […]