Top Home Health Trends For 2024

In 2023, the decreasing influence of COVID-19 did not mitigate the overall operating pressures home health providers were forced to face. In the new year, there still remains plenty of opportunity, but much to work through to tap into that opportunity. More proposed rate cuts to home health reimbursement are expected from the Centers for […]

‘We Need To Go Where The Patients Are’: How Home Health Agencies Are Adjusting To Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has been on a steady climb over the last two decades. As such, home health agencies have started to adjust operations to better fit the payer landscape in the future. Agencies in states like Michigan, Hawaii and Alabama have already had to do that — and those transitions haven’t been seamless. […]

The Number Of Active, Quality Home Health Agencies Continues To Dip

The number of high-quality Medicare-certified home health agencies has gone down slightly over the years, according to data from the recently released 2023 Home Care Chartbook from the Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC). The chartbook is an annual overview of the home health landscape. “A lot of what we know hasn’t really changed for […]

Medicare Advantage Patients Attempting To Utilize Home Health Care Are Hitting More Roadblocks

Traditional Medicare beneficiaries are finding they have solid access to home health care. Medicare Advantage (MA) members utilizing home health care, on the other hand, are having a much harder time accessing care. That’s according to data in the newly released 2023 Home Care Chartbook from the Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC). The RIHC […]

‘Is It A Good Or Bad Thing?’: How Providers, Advocates Feel About Optum’s Home Health Entrance

When it was first announced that the home health giant LHC Group was being acquired in March 2022, it wasn’t shocking. What was shocking, at least to some, was the buyer – UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) Optum. Though Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) had already acquired Kindred at Home, UnitedHealth Group getting into the mix was […]

Future In Focus: Jennifer Sheets, Board Member, National Association For Home Care & Hospice, Research Institute For Home Care

The vast majority of Americans prefer to age in place and receive post-hospital care in the home. Despite that fact, current reimbursement structures from fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) often leave providers operating on thin ice. Conveners rationing home health services is another hurdle that needs to be cleared, according to Jennifer Sheets, a […]

Home Health Care Serving ‘Older, Sicker, Poorer’ Patient Populations

Almost half of Medicare beneficiaries utilizing home health care services have five or more chronic conditions. This is also true when looking at Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries, according to data from the Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC). RIHC recently released its 2022 Home Care Chartbook, a detailed overview of the home health landscape that […]

The Power of ‘Higher-Level’ Home-Based Care Research

A recognizable name in home-based care is switching up its branding to better reflect the work it will set out to do in the near-term future for the space. The Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (AHHQI) is now the Research Institute for Home Care. But its mission won’t change, according to it leaders. […]