Home health providers’ fight against cuts to fee-for-service Medicare payment has become a year-by-year battle. But the yearly cuts are compounding, which is exactly what industry advocates are trying to illustrate to Congress prior to the next payment rule proposal. Since the adoption of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) in 2020, the Centers for Medicare […]
National Association for Home Care & Hospice
On Tuesday, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials vehemently backed the thought process behind the “80-20” wage mandate in home- and community-based services (HCBS). Providers and advocates, on the other hand, continued to argue that the policy could be disastrous. During a press call Tuesday, CMS stuck with the theme that, in general, […]
The White House teased the finalized Medicaid Access Rule early Monday, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) later revealed more intricate details attached to the rule. Firstly, the timeline of the rule is now clear. Specifically: – In three years, states must “report on their readiness to collect data regarding the percentage […]
The “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” rule has been finalized. Most importantly, the bemoaned “80-20” provision has gone through as proposed, meaning providers will eventually be forced to direct 80% of reimbursement for home- and community-based services (HCBS) to caregiver wages. First proposed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in April […]
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center announced a new proposed model that will undoubtedly affect home health providers, and also allow them the opportunity to get more involved in value-based care initiatives. The Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), which would eventually be mandatory if finalized, would have selected acute […]
As the breadth and depth of home health care continues to grow, providers are exposed to an abundance of opportunities. To get a crack at that upside, however, providers will need to overcome and adapt to a litany of challenges. Those that don’t could contribute to the consolidation that the home health industry is already […]
In July, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over home health payment cuts. On Dec. 15, the Biden administration responded by asking a federal judge to throw out that lawsuit, […]
To find the most memorable home-based care executive quotes in 2023, Home Health Care News employed a strategy that is part art, part science. Ultimately, the quotes chosen resonated the most with HHCN’s staff and readers. They were prescient, controversial, telling and highly relevant to provider struggles and opportunities. They touched on the Centers for […]
The Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) has received a set of diverse reactions since it has been live. Some home health providers find it useful and others find it to be yet another administrative burden. Either way, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seems intent on expanding it. Broadly, the goal of RCD […]
After the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2024 final payment rule Wednesday, home health providers found themselves in a position they know all too well. Is a 0.8% aggregate payment increase better than the 2.2% decrease that was proposed? Of course. Was the rule, in its totality, effective in […]