MedPAC Affirms ‘First Step’ Toward New Payment System

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 […]

Congress Urged to Cut Home Health Medicare Payments

Home health agencies would see their Medicare reimbursements frozen in 2017 and then reduced starting the next year, if policymakers adopt the latest recommendations from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Therapy visits also should no longer be factored into Medicare payments for home health agencies, according to the commission. “The Congress should direct the […]

MedPAC: Home Health Medicare Payments Too High

Medicare payments to home health agencies are too high and don’t necessarily reflect the cost of a typical episode, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reiterated at a meeting last week. The home health prospective payment system includes the number of therapy visits provided in an episode as a payment factor, and providing more visits […]

Home Health Dramatically Shifts Away from Post-Hospital Care

While home health agencies are crucial post-hospital care providers, they have seen a huge uptick in patients who are not coming out of that setting, recently released Medicare data shows. Between 2001 and 2012, the number of home health episodes not preceded by a hospitalization or a stay in a post-acute setting increased by 116%, […]

Freeze Home Health Payments, Medicare Advisors Again Tell Congress

Home health Medicare payments should not increase next year, considering providers’ unreasonably high margins, a prominent panel of advisors has again stated in its annual report to Congress. Each year, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommends how Congress should shape Medicare policy. Lawmakers are not obligated to implement the commission’s ideas — and they […]

Home Health Leaders: Medicare Reforms Could Save More Than $15 Billion

The leading coalition of home health providers has put forth a proposal that could save more than $15 billion over 10 years by improving the Medicare pay model. The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare recently proposed Skilled Home Health and Integrity Program Savings (SHHIPS), which would move Medicare away from a “pay and chase” model by preventing […]

MedPAC Calls for Home Health Cost Cutting, Incentives

A Medicare advisory board is calling for reimbursement cuts to home health agencies with high rates of hospital readmissions.  In its annual report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reiterates recommendations made in 2011 to revise and rebase home health payments. Specifically, the Commission recommends that revising the prospective payment system so that […]