Going into 2020, many home health executives predicted that the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) would kick off a wave of consolidation and agency closures. Others believed the phase out of Requests for Anticipated Payment (RAPs) would have a similar effect. For the most part, that didn’t happen. The COVID-19 pandemic — and all the policy […]
So far, there’s been a lack of information on the characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are discharged to the home setting. Researchers Kathryn Bowles and Margaret McDonald — both with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) — are working to change that. For the past few months, Bowles and […]
The ongoing expansion of Medicare Advantage (MA), a federal minimum-wage hike and additional support for front-line health care workers during the COVID-19 public health emergency. These are just a few of the industry-shaping topics that home health insiders are following going into Election Day this Tuesday. While each presidential election is important, 2020 will help […]
The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases hit 68,767 on Sunday, shattering the previous high set in July. Meanwhile, Friday and Saturday took over as the two highest days for new cases since the pandemic began. Despite mitigation efforts and progress on rapid testing, the U.S. is firmly in the middle of a third surge, […]
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Ny.) is asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that in-home care providers have access to essential resources amid the coronavirus. Throughout the public health emergency, home health and home care providers have been vocal about the challenges […]
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is flexing its data science muscles. Over the past few months, VNSNY and its data science team have been building a contact-tracing tool to help home- and community-based care providers limit the spread of the coronavirus. Mapping the spread of COVID-19 remains critical to all health care […]
The nation’s largest nonprofit home- and community-based services organization has named its next CEO. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) announced Thursday that its board of directors has selected Dan Savitt to take over for current CEO Marki Flannery when she steps down at the end of January 2021. Savitt has served as […]
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) announced Thursday it will pay $57 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former executive more than five years ago. On its end, the record-setting settlement allows VNSNY, the nation’s largest nonprofit home- and community-based care services provider, to move on from a long-running legal […]
From a financial perspective, home health agencies nationwide are struggling to provide care amid the coronavirus. Providers are juggling lower patient volumes and a lack of telehealth reimbursement while also navigating astronomical personal protective equipment (PPE) prices and increased low utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) rates. In New York, those factors and others are expected to […]
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the U.S., one might assume the home-based care industry is booming, due to providers’ special ability to keep vulnerable senior populations safely at home. However, it seems the opposite is true: Many home health and home care providers have reported that business is down, due to factors like […]