BIRMINGAM, Ala. (June 2, 2020)—The coronavirus crisis has not had a huge impact on M&A activity, said Mertz-Taggart, a health care services M&A firm in their quarterly update. Rather, Q2 transactions have been predictably impacted by the Patient Driven Groupings Model.
ASSOCIATED PRESS (June 2, 2020)—Will temperature checks of employees make workplaces safe?
No, not completely. They can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections but shouldn’t be the only safety measure employers take.
Some employers are following White House guidelines to screen workers for a fever with daily temperature checks to help prevent the spread of infections.
WASHINGTON, D.C (May 29, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Medicare Program: Contract Year 2021 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, and Medicare Cost Plan Program, with important information about the special election period for hospice beneficiaries.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Penn. (May 29, 2020)—AdaptHealth Corp., a provider of home medical equipment, supplies and related services in the United States, announced today that it has entered into two separate definitive agreements to acquire San Diego, California based Solara Medical Supplies, LLC and Minneapolis, Minnesota based ActivStyle, Inc.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (May 29, 2020)—It brings HOMES’ Executive Committee great pleasure to announce that Jason Morin, most recently of Home Care Specialists Inc., based in Haverhill, Massachusettes, is the association’s new president and CEO. He will officially begin this new role June 1st.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 29, 2020)—Last year’s Omnibus bill included a provision to exempt manual complex rehab technology (CRT) accessories from bidding derived prices for an 18-month period starting January 1, 2020.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (May 29, 2020)—3B Medical is pleased to announce completion of independent lab testing of Lumin used to decontaminate an N95 respirator. Lumin, a UV sanitizer, has a measured UVC irradiance output of roughly 2,000 mJ/cm2, well in excess of the dose requirement to kill most bacteria and viruses. This latest test study by Microchem utilized an N95 respirator inoculated with Human Coronavirus. In this study, Lumin evidenced greater than a 99.9% kill of Human Coronavirus.
AGOURA HILLS, Caif. (May 29, 2020)—Casamba, a provider of electronic medical record (EMR) solutions for contract therapy providers, skilled nursing facilities, home health and hospice agencies, and outpatient therapy, announced the launch of the Casamba Small Business Network.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2020)—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a 45-day deadline extension for providers who are receiving payments from the Provider Relief Fund to accept the terms and conditions for Provider Relief Fund payments on May 22. This announcement means providers have now been granted 90 days from the date they received a payment to accept HHS Terms and Conditions or return the funds.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (May 27, 2020)—Aeroflow Healthcare, a nationwide provider of durable medical equipment, announced the results of a proprietary survey designed to highlight the struggle and stigma middle-aged women experience with incontinence. The third-party administered survey polled 1010 adult women aged 40 to 64 living in the United States and was completed on March 16, 2020.
LAS VEGAS (May 27, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the Home Care & Hospice Financial Managers Association have decided to hold the Financial Management Conference (FMC) as a virtual meeting in July 2020. While the association was looking forward to seeing members in person in Las Vegas, the safety of guests is the paramount concern, so the conference has been moved online.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2020)—AAHomecare is currently working on comments for the Interim Final Rule (IFR), Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 public health emergency that was published on April 6, 2020. This IFR provided relief on coverage for respiratory products and allows non-physician healthcare professionals to prescribe DME under Medicaid.
LAS VEGAS (May 27, 2020)—NATURALLY ABLE, an online community for people with disabilities, has expanded its advisory team to include N-ABLE guides who contribute lifestyle advice, resources and news with the goal of helping readers lead healthier lives. The website, naturallyable.com, also offers a free magazine via email subscription signup and an online discussion group.
Editor's note: This article will be updated with new information about the novel coronavirus outbreak as it relates to home health, home medical equipment and the aging-in-place community as we receive it. Please make sure you check homecaremag.com/coronavirus for longer articles, news releases and other updates on a daily basis. Note that date stamps are Central time.
Back home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Richard and Denise Victor would get to see their four grandchildren almost every day. One set of kids lives around the block; the others are half an hour away, all close enough for frequent visits and sleepovers.
After she landed in the hospital with a broken hip, Parkinson’s disease and the coronavirus, 84-year-old Dorothy “Poogie” Wyatt Shields made a request of her children: “Bring me home.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice announced full support of the COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing Act, a bicameral bill introduced by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in the Senate and Rep.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2020)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released additional information on the Provider Relief Fund deadline for submitting revenue information. The Agency is also reminding eligible providers that they have until June 3, 2020, to accept the Terms and Conditions and submit their revenue information to support receiving an additional payment from the Provider Relief Fund $50 billion General Distribution.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21,2020)—Today, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) released a “Long Term Care Workforce Roadmap for Governors and States,” outlining ways state public health officials can help nursing homes and assisted living communities address workforce needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.