Author

Russ Willcutt

  • Industry Q&A

    HME Industry Q&A with John G. Beard, Alacare Home Health & Hospice

    HC: How have Medicare’s reimbursement changes affected the Home Healthcare industry? JB: Since Medicare established the Home Heath Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) on October 1, 2000, Home Health Agencies (HHAs) have been subjected to annual adjustments based on amendments to the law along with regulatory changes. The National Episodic Reimbursement Rate is about the same amount today as it was in 2000 and the Case Mix Weight adjustments have become more restrictive in terms of addressing the needs of older, frailer Medicare patients who have an adequate Home Health Care Benefit to address all their homecare needs. Medicare is now seeking to address the problems that have resulted from a system that has incorrectly addressed the management of chronic conditions via an acute care, institutional...

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  • Industry Q&A

    HME Industry Q&A with Alan Lynch, ATLAS

    HC: What unmet needs or challenges led to the development of the ATLAS system? AL: We recognize that our industry is in the middle of a very pivotal time for mobility and HME providers. They are facing the challenge of providing equipment on reduced margins and with increased scrutiny of their documentation. In addition to these challenges, providers are also confronted with the risk of refused payments if the documentation is found to be inadequate during an audit. ATLAS was born as out of necessity as the provider side of our business searched for a software solution to allow us to tackle these challenges. As we looked at what was available in the market we found many good options, but didn’t feel that any of...

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