HomeCare Editors’ Top 5: Week of January 11

Hospitals Required to Keep Caregivers in the Loop
A new California law, SB 675, requires hospital staffers to involve a family caregiver during the hospitalization and discharge process, which supporters say will improve patients’ overall health and reduce their chances of readmission. (Anna Gorman/Kaiser Health News)

Medicaid Falls Short on Smoking Cessation
Since one-third of Medicaid participants smoke, compared to 17 percent of the general population, you’d think the states would be all about helping people in their Medicaid programs to quit. (Nancy Shute/NPR)

Public Gives Drugmakers a Pass on Rising Health Care Costs
Drugmakers took some heat for high prices this year, but the public generally blames insurance companies for longer-term health cost increases. (Caitlin Owens/Morning Consult)

Pressure Increases to Keep ERs Off Diversion Schedules
A study released earlier this year found that heart attack patients whose ambulances were diverted from crowded emergency rooms to hospitals farther away were more likely to be dead a year later. (Sarah Jane Tribble/Kaiser Health News)

CMS Fields Questions on Value Based Purchasing
The time has arrived for the implementation of newly proposed Medicare payment policies, and home health agencies large and small affected by one in particular now have a resource aimed at thwarting any confusion. (Kourtney Liepelt/Home Health Care News)