WASHINGTON—The United States Senate passed a bipartisan funding bill that included a provision that will extend telehealth access for Americans enrolled in Medicare through the end of 2027.
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia & WASHINGTON—On Jan. 22, representatives reintroduced Gerald's Law as a standalone bill to permanently protect burial benefits for veterans who receive hospice care furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outside of a VA facility. The bill was reintroduced by Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Nikki Budzinski (D-IL).
OWINGS MILLS, Maryland—The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) announced it is now accepting nominations for its Certificant of the Year (COY) Award. This award honors a BOC-certified professional for achievements in service, research and outreach.
DALLAS—Elara Caring, a provider of skilled home health, hospice, behavioral health and personal care services, announced that it has entered into an agreement for an investment from Ares’ Private Equity Group and DaVita.
NEW YORK—VNS Health and iCircle, two nonprofit organizations, announced they are partnering in the hopes of making long-term care more accessible and supportive for individuals across Western, Central and the Southern tier of New York.
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas—WellSky has announced new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered referral management workflows aimed at helping home health and hospice providers centralize intake, manage referral complexity and efficiently process growing volumes of patient referrals.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky—Caring Senior Service, a non-medical, personalized homecare services company, announced it has opened a new location at 11360 Bluegrass Parkway in Louisville, Kentucky.
WILLOW GROVE, Pennsylvania—Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, digital darkness events and counterfeit medical products are the most significant health care hazards according to the Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI). ECRI, an independent nonprofit organization, emphasized the importance of “prevention over reaction” in “Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2026” report, Jan. 21.
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Florida—Empath Health announced that its board of directors has elected Jan Miller as chair of the board of trustees. Miller succeeds Ben Hayes, who served as chair from 2023 to 2026 and will continue supporting Empath Health’s mission through his ongoing service to the organization.
LYME, Connecticut—Purple Flag Excellence in Dementia Care has announced the appointment of Dr. Ronald Schwartz to the Purple Flag for Dementia Care credentialing committee.
The Purple Flag for Dementia Care credentialing committee provides oversight in the accreditation process for Purple Flag Excellence in Dementia Care providers.
OAKLAND, California—The Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI) announced the appointment of Maria Lozzano as its new chief operating officer (COO). Lozzano joined CEI’s executive leadership team effective Jan. 12, reporting directly to President and CEO Maria Zamora.
As COO, Lozzano will oversee organizational operations, collaborating with clinical and administrative leaders to enhance operational excellence and support growth.
LIVINGSTON, Tennessee—Encore Healthcare, a provider of respiratory care solutions, announced its Nexus platform has earned certified status by Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) for information security.
BURKBURNETT, Texas—HomeWell Care Services, a national homecare provider, has been recognized for the sixth consecutive year as one of the top 500 franchises in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500.
Ranking No. 208—the company’s highest position since 2018—HomeWell said it earned this distinction for its outstanding performance in unit growth, financial strength and stability, operational and marketing support and brand power.
PORT WASHINGTON, New York—Drive Medical has agreed to buy Compass Health Brands for an undisclosed sum, the company announced.
DALLAS—Unify Healthcare Services, a medical billing and revenue cycle management (RCM) company, announced the launch of Medicraft, durable medical equipment (DME) billing software designed to help DME suppliers manage billing operations, claims and revenue workflows.
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina—Aeroflow Health, a health care company that leverages technology to support the delivery of medical products and services, announced a new partnership with Johns Hopkins Health Plans and the Maryland Community Health System to provide Priority Partners, a Medicaid managed care organization (MCO), with durable medical equipment (DME) for its members across Maryland.
ATLANTA & IRVINE, California—Stance Health Solutions, a provider of home medical equipment (HME) and respiratory services in California, has selected MediStreams to automate its explanation of benefits (EOB) conversion processes, accelerating cash posting and reducing manual workload for the revenue cycle team across its growing operations.
LONG BEACH, California—Molina Healthcare announced a workforce development initiative in partnership with HealthStream’s MissionCare Collective to create 15,000 home health aide (HHA) positions across 26 states.
NEW YORK—Claim Health, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-native revenue operations for post-acute care, announced a $4.4 million seed round led by Maverick Ventures, with participation from Peak XV, Y Combinator and Digital Health Venture Partners (DHVP). The round also includes participation from C-suite executives—including CEOs and COOs—at large post-acute care providers.
WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a 0.09% increase in Medicare Advantage (MA) payments for calendar year 2027.
If finalized, the proposed policies are projected to result in a net average year-over-year payment increase of 0.09%, or over $700 million in MA payments to plans in CY 2027.
