Home-Based Care Wins Included In The $1.66T Omnibus Spending Bill

Home-based care providers are enthused – at least in part – by the passing of the $1.66 trillion omnibus spending bill in December. Specifically, they’re bullish on the added transparency language required from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a two-year extension for Medicare telehealth provisions and further value-based care incentives. “CMS being […]

New Direct-Contracting Options Raise Concerns with Some Value-Based Care Veterans

For the most part, in-home health care providers have responded to new federal direct-contracting models with enthusiasm. Landmark Health, for example, is one of 51 direct-contracting entities (DCEs) already participating in the upcoming “global” and “professional” options, both of which were first introduced by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in early 2019. […]

Nearly 70% of ACOs Will Soon Offer Some Type of Home Visits

More than half of all accountable care organizations (ACOs) deliver home-based care to their patients, while an additional 17% have new home visit programs in the works. That’s according to a recent survey of National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) members, conducted in conjunction with the Institute for Accountable Care (IAC) and West Health Institute. Washington, […]

House Lawmakers Looking to Relax Anti-Kickback Rules in Value-Based Care Arrangements

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is looking to relax federal anti-kickback rules related to how, when and where physicians refer their patients. Doing so could mean smoother referral relationships for home health providers, especially the biggest ones and those operating within an accountable care organization (ACO). Efforts to loosen anti-kickback regulations come from the […]

National Association of ACOs Calls for Wider Use of Home Health, Looser Requirements

The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) is calling on the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to loosen home health requirements for new Medicare alternative payment models. In doing so, ACOs will be able to better deliver care and save money, the association argued in a letter to CMS’s Innovation Center. “More […]

Shifting ACO Rules Create Uncertainty for Home Health Agencies

Home health agencies are still unsure what a recent overhaul of Medicare’s accountable care organization (ACO) program means for them. They will be affected, experts say, but how and to what extent remains unclear. Called “Pathways to Success,” the new policies for ACOs were announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about […]