Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model Likely Headed to the Scrap Yard

The Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model (HHVBPM) is likely headed for the scrap yard in the not-too-distant future. Implemented in 2016, HHVBPM was generally designed to pay home health providers in nine states based on outcomes and the value of services delivered. While many thought HHVBPM was fated for expansion, the initiative appears to be […]

LHC Group CEO: Biggest Innovation We Need Is Payment Innovation

When it comes to technology, there’s no shortage of gadgets and gizmos promising to innovate home-based care. In fact, during trade shows, all of the different technology being highlighted can sometimes feel a little like a scene from a science-fiction show. “I think we have seen the future of technology — we just haven’t started […]

CMS Announces New Hospital, Home Health Discharge Planning Requirements

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule Thursday that makes changes to discharge planning requirements for home health providers. Broadly, the changes are part of CMS’s efforts to make patients a more active part of their care transitions out of the hospital and into other settings. “This delivers on President […]

Traditional Medicare May Trump Medicare Advantage in Reducing Readmissions

Despite previously reported findings, traditional Medicare may have a better track record of lowering hospital-readmission risk compared to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. While the re-hospitalization difference appears to be small, it’s an important observation for home health providers, especially those that work closely with MA plans. New insights into re-hospitalization rates in Medicare and […]

House Lawmakers Move to Scrap PDGM’s Widely Opposed Behavioral Assumptions

The home health industry won a major victory in its battle to scrap widely opposed provisions of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) Wednesday, as a group of bipartisan House lawmakers introduced a new bill targeting the payment overhaul’s behavioral assumptions. Introduced by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Ralph Abraham (R-La.) — along […]

Ensign’s Cornerstone in Buy-Now Mode, CEO Says

Cornerstone Healthcare — the large in-home care provider organization under The Ensign Group Inc. (NYSE: ENSG) umbrella — is actively seeking opportunities to acquire both well-performing and struggling home health, hospice and home care operations across the United States. That’s according to Cornerstone President and CEO Daniel Walker, who hinted at future M&A moves following […]

Editor’s Picks: Beyond Readmissions

This week, our readers were keen on how home health house calls can reduce hospital admissions and care costs. They also wanted to know why one health network is looking beyond hospital readmission rates to form its home health partnerships. Here in the newsroom, we took notice of InnovAge’s decision to transition from a non-profit […]