Nursing home occupancy rates have plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with hospitals, families and others opting for in-home care over institutional care settings. And that trend may very well become permanent, recent data suggests. Since the start of last spring, nursing home operators have faced fewer new admissions, particularly short-term rehabilitation patients. The growing number […]
National Association for Home Care & Hospice
Home health agencies took hits to both their censuses and psyches when the public health emergency (PHE) was declared last March. Since then, some industry insiders have argued that the space has gone through a five- to 10-year transformation. Subsequently, the second year of COVID-19 is set to look different than the first, for a […]
As different health care stakeholders combed through the new $1.4 trillion spending package approved by Congress on Monday, many likely felt a mix of excitement and disappointment. Included in the nearly 6,000-page spending package was a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, changes to home health therapy rules, certain hospice provisions and more. That’s really just […]
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic dominated headlines in 2020 — and rightfully so. But there were plenty of other storylines that defined the year, including the launch of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), the conclusion of a hotly contested presidential election and the execution of multiple industry-shaping transactions. These are nine of the most overlooked stories […]
The dichotomy in the U.S. right now is evident, especially for those in health care: While vaccines and coinciding hope are being injected into Americans, the number of new COVID-19 cases each day continues to climb. And while every home-based care provider and worker keeps reading that the vaccines — both Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) and […]
The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) was supposed to define home health care in 2020. Instead, this year was almost entirely shaped by COVID-19, a point that’s reinforced by the most widely read stories on Home Health Care News. Of the top-10 stories on HHCN in 2020, eight were related to coronavirus coverage. From the first […]
Griswold adds to leadership team, board Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based Griswold Home Care has named Matt Ericksen director of sales and operations. In his new role, Ericksen will bring expertise in business development, compliance and recruitment to the team, according to the company. He was most recently the director of operations at BrightStar Care The Main […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final 2021 home health payment rule Thursday. In doing so, it changed very little from what it first proposed in June. The final rule adds an estimated $390 million home health payment boost for agencies in 2021, or an aggregate increase of 1.9%. That […]
Home health industry turnover rates have once again worsened in 2020, especially for front-line worker positions. That’s according to the latest Home Care Salary & Benefits Report from the Oakland, New Jersey-based Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, which provides salary and benefits studies for the health care sector. The annual report is published with the […]
As Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment explodes and plans begin to offer more benefits to members, home health and home care agencies alike need to prove their value in order to gain new business. Specifically, home health providers need to demonstrate how they can lower costs and potentially add members for MA plans. “The important thing […]
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