Read the latest from HomeCare contributors on how to run your home health agency, whether you're providing skilled care and therapy, managing a care plan, working in the hospice field or supporting personal care.
WASHINGTON—The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted on Jan. 11 to recommend that Congress reduce 2025 home health payment rates by 7%.
While the move was expected, advocates and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) still voiced their disappointment at the guidance.
WASHINGTON—In the United States, hundreds of thousands of individuals face the challenges and risks of malnutrition, necessitating life-sustaining enteral nutrition (EN) to receive necessary nutrition and hydration. Delivered through various methods into the gastrointestinal tract, EN is indispensable for individuals with diverse medical conditions either temporarily or as a lifelong requirement.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee—In December 2023, Brookdale Senior Living sold its remaining 20% equity interest in its Health Care Services unconsolidated venture and received aggregate proceeds of approximately $27 million in connection with the transaction. The company previously decreased this investment upon a sale of a portion of the venture in November 2021.
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona—As the new year begins, Executive Home Care, a provider of in-home care services, is encouraging seniors and their families to adopt achievable health and wellness resolutions.
WALTHAM, Massachusetts—Devoted Health, an all-in-one health care company for Medicare beneficiaries, delivering health insurance and virtual-first medical care announced that it has closed on $175 million of Series E funding. The round was led by a lead syndicate composed of The Space Between (TSB), Highbury Holdings, GIC, Stardust Equity, Maverick Ventures and Fearless Ventures.
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois—The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) announced the approval of eleven applications to proceed toward certification in the Supportive Living Program for Dementia Care Settings.
MINNESOTA—More than $9.5 million in new state grants will help aging Minnesotans stay in their homes longer through services such as caregiver support, housekeeping, retrofitting to prevent falls and other assistance.
Live Well at Home grants will go to 45 organizations to support aging Minnesotans. Projects funded in the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ latest round of grants include:
WASHINGTONG—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) jointly announced they have developed a proposed slate of Transition Board of Directors and officers for 2024. The Transition Board will oversee the transition to a new, consolidated organization pursuant to its ratification by both associations’ Boards of Directors in an agreement to combine which is contemplated in early 2024.
DENVER—DispatchHealth has published findings from a case study assessing caregiver fatigue within the hospital-at-home model, and they suggest that in-home hospital alternative care may alleviate, not exacerbate, caregiver stress.
BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada—ComForCare, a franchised provider of in-home caregiving services, announced its inclusion in the 2023 Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness list by Great Place to Work in Canada.
BOSTON—HouseWorks Holdings, LLC (HouseWorks), a personal care services platform serving the Northeast, has entered into definitive agreements to partner with Elite Home Health Care (Elite), a provider of homecare services across the state of New York. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, marks HouseWorks’ entrance into New York and will transform HouseWorks' geographic footprint while simultaneously enhancing the opportunity for organic growth.
SAN JOSE, California—The physician-led senior health services provider WelbeHealth, in partnership with Northern California-based health care system
WASHINGTON—A new Workplace Wellness Survey (WWS) report published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research finds caregiving workers are slightly older on average, more likely to work part-time than non-caregivers, stressed about finances and are challenged to juggle work and caregiving responsibilities.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky—CenterWell Home Health, one of America’s largest providers of home health, has supplied more than a quarter-million meals in its latest drive to feed people in need in the communities it serves around the country.
Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organizations, CenterWell this fall collected food and financial donations equivalent to 289,490 meals, according to Susan Benoit, president of CenterWell Home Health.
KENTUCKY—A class action lawsuit filed in Kentucky on Tuesday, Dec. 12 alleged that Humana illegally used artificial intelligence (AI) to deny patients care owed to them under their Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans.
CHICAGO—The challenges and needs of rural care are well documented, but what too often goes overlooked is how in-home care models can provide proactive and urgent access to care for the frailest seniors. That's why WellBe Senior Medical said it is honored to expand its services into Oregon, including rural areas, to tackle that very issue.
BROCKTON and NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts—Marking a significant milestone on its 43rd anniversary, family-owned and operated Best of Care, Inc., a Massachusetts’ homecare and care management provider, has acquired Northhampton, Massachusetts-based Barton’s Angels. Known since 1997 for its personalized homecare services in Massachusetts’ Connecticut River Valley, Barton’s Angels will now be part of Best of Care’s network, serving an expanded client base in the region.
SAN DIEGO—ResMed announced the results of a study on the global burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) through 2050. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, the study found that COPD prevalence among those 25 years and older is expected to increase by 23% from 2020 to 2050, with the largest growth projected among women and within low- and middle-income countries.
ESPOO, Finland—Finnish health tech company and remote patient monitoring platform provider Medixine has continued its growth by appointing two key senior personnel. The company’s ongoing expansion in the U.S. is strengthened by new VP of United States operations Josh Parkinson, who will provide enhanced support and facilitate the growth of Medixine’s U.S. customers and partners, with future plans to establish a U.S.-based subsidiary.
OMAHA, Nebraska—WorldView, a provider of health care workflow automation, and Care Coordinations, an advanced communication
