The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended a COVID-19 pandemic-era waiver that will allow home- and community-based service (HCBS) providers to take advantage of flexibilities in their state programs. The Appendix K waiver allowed HCBS providers more wiggle room during emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS introduced the waiver to […]
Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care
Three major home-based care groups are asking the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for more time to review the agency’s recent Medicaid proposal, which features a handful of provisions that could prove challenging for operators. Among those provisions mandate thresholds on reimbursement, in which CMS would require that at least 80% of […]
A number of lawmakers – including Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) – introduced a bill Thursday that would expand coverage of home- and community-based services under Medicaid. The HCBS Access Act was introduced by Casey, as a companion bill to the Better Care Better Jobs Act, which was originally unveiled in […]
Those in home-based care have seen a lot of government programs over the years, both good and bad. The Money Follows the Person (MFP) program tends to get brought up as part of the former camp – a good one. The program was initially launched in 2007 and was funded by the Affordable Care Act […]
Home-based care industry insiders are encouraged by the steps the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking in releasing its first ever home- and community-based services (HCBS) quality measures. While it’s still early in the process, experts believe now is the time for providers to begin talks with state agencies in order to […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday officially designated the COVID-19 variant Omicron as “a variant of concern.” The U.N. agency on Monday followed that up by warning the global risk from Omicron is “very high” based on early evidence, noting the variant could have “severe consequences” as far as future surges. While there’s still […]
Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its interim emergency regulation relating to the federal government’s vaccine mandate last Thursday, more clarity has come to the surface. Specifically, CMS has made clear what health care providers are included, what individuals can be exempt and how the mandate will be enforced. What came […]
President Joe Biden on Thursday went to bat for a significantly trimmed down version of his Build Back Better plan, a massive economic proposal that seeks to expand the country’s social safety net. “No one got everything they wanted, including me,” the president said in his public remarks. “But that’s what compromise is. That’s consensus. […]
Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are a way to fill gaps in care for seniors with complex medical conditions, with Medicaid being the main source of coverage for long-term services and supports (LTSS). As of 2020, over 2.5 million individuals received HCBS services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Still, there are hundreds of […]
A bicameral group of U.S. lawmakers unveiled new legislation Thursday designed to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into home-based care over the next several years. The legislation — officially titled the “Better Care Better Jobs Act” — is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ron Wyden of Oregon, in addition to […]
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