The Trump administration on Monday released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2020, calling for government-wide domestic spending cuts of 5%, a site-neutral payment system for health care providers and a major Medicaid overhaul. The proposed budget — unlikely to make it past a democrat-controlled House of Representatives — also seeks to curb Medicare spending […]
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is once again calling for steep cuts to the Medicare base payment rate for home health agencies. MedPAC’s recommendation comes despite the U.S. health care system’s steady march into the home and the fact more care is being delivered in residential settings. Specifically, MedPAC officials are recommending that Congress […]
Proposed policy changes related to how home health agencies bill for therapy shouldn’t cause the industry to cut staff or abruptly back away from those services, experts say. Under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 2, home health providers would no longer be able […]
Hospital discharge planners should have more leeway in how they educate and inform patients about post-acute care options, perhaps making star ratings a more important part of the conversation, home health providers believe. But it’s a change that would need to be handled carefully to prevent favoritism or abuse in how referrals are made, they caution. […]
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has alerted Congress to how rarely home health patients pick their neighborhood’s highest quality provider after being discharged from the hospital. MedPAC compiles its regular report to advise Congress on payments to health plans participating in the Medicare Advantage program and providers in Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service program, but lawmakers are not required […]
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) submitted its Medicare payment policy report to Congress, recommending a 5% payment rate cute to the home health care industry for 2019. The recommendation is in line with prior reports from MedPAC, which is tasked with advising Congress on the administration of the Medicare program. The commission also recommended […]
More than other types of post-acute providers, home health agencies stand to benefit financially from patients who need consecutive episodes of care, according to findings shared at the recent meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). MedPAC is tasked with analyzing the Medicare system and offering recommendations to Congress for how it can function […]
A new report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommends that Congress quickly overhaul the payment system for post-acute care by transitioning away from the current fee-for-service (FFS) system. MedPAC submitted its twice yearly report to Congress in June, affirming that the overhaul of the payment system for post-acute care (PAC)— referred to as the prospective […]
After discussing whether to implement a new prospective payment system (PPS) for home health by 2021, the Medical Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) unanimously voted to recommend the date to Congress in its April meeting. MedPAC members voted 15-0 to approve the timeline in its recommendation to Congress. The new PPS was originally likely to be scheduled […]
Happy Monday! While we got our first taste of a warm spring here in Chicago over the weekend, the world kept on turning. Catch up with everything you might have missed last week and over the weekend with our Monday Briefing. To start off your week, read the latest news about the Republican health care […]