HomeCare News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 8, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has joined with other likeminded organizations to urgently ask Congress to consider the overlooked needs of the disabled and elderly when considering any upcoming COVID relief.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 8, 2020)—The Board of Directors for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) met to welcome two new members, welcome back some returning members, elect officers, and bid a fond and grateful farewell to some outgoing members.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 7, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a 0.6% CPI-U adjustment to the 2021 DMEPOS fee schedule for products previously subject to competitive bidding provided in Competitive Bidding Areas (CBAs). The adjustment for suppliers in rural and other non-bid areas is expected to be even less.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (December 7, 2020)—3B Medical announced today receiving Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA to permit use of Lumin, a UVC system, on N95 respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lumin was designed to clean CPAP accessories but is also used as a multi-purpose sanitizer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 4, 2020)—Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) and David McKinley (R-West Virginia ) have introduced legislation to prevent Medicare reimbursement cuts to health care providers through the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act (H.R. 8840) would continue a pause of 2% Medicare sequester cuts through the duration of the public health emergency. In March, Congress halted the 2% sequester cuts through Dec.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (December 3, 2020)—The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released updates on its ongoing efforts to combat health care fraud and abuse by publishing the results of its 2020 takedown effort targeting, among others, fraud and abuse in the telemedicine and prescription drug industries (2020 Takedown).

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Penn. (December 3, 2020)—AdaptHealth Corp., a provider of home medical equipment (HME) and related services, announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Orlando, Florida-based AeroCare Holdings, Inc., in a deal valued at about $2 billion.

NEW YORK, (December 3, 2020)—With the onset of COVID-19, New York-based St. Mary’s Home Care moved quickly to identify new approaches for conducting virtual home visits. The widely respected agency is part of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, New York’s primary provider of long-term and rehabilitative care for critically ill and injured children.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 3, 2020)—Vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted 13-1 on Tuesday, Dec. 1, to recommend health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities receive prioritization for coronavirus vaccines that receive emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 3, 2020)—Forty-two legislators who co-sponsored home medical equipment industry priority legislation or endorsed an industry supported sign-on letter in the 116th Congress will not be returning when the new session convenes in January 2021. The departing legislators include three Senators and 39 House members who did not win re-election this November, retired or had left Congress earlier in the term.

BOSTON (December 3, 2020)—Prospero Health, a team-based home health care company, announced today that it is expanding into 16 states to reach more than 8,000 new patients in need of home health care in 2021. With its expanded footprint, Prospero will serve 25,000 patients in a total of 26 states, bringing its model of home-based care and 24/7 telemedicine support to a growing population of people living with serious health conditions.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (December 1, 2020)—The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) recently was recognized as a Silver Winner of a 2020 Golden Bridge Award. The award’s “Company Rethinking of the Year” category applauds companies that have demonstrated resiliency and creativity in adapting their business models and customer service offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brentwood, Tenn. (December 1, 2020)—Numotion, a provider of complex rehab technology (CRT), has expanded into Amarillo, Texas with the acquisition of the CRT division of BritKare. Founded in 1995, BritKare has been dedicated to serving the mobility needs of customers in the geographies surrounding Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas for more than 25 years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 1, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has outlined unprecedented comprehensive steps to increase the capacity of the American health care system to provide care to patients outside a traditional hospital setting amid a rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations across the country.

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (December 1, 2020)—SleepGlad, an artificial intelligence CPAP mask fitting software company, was formed in early 2020 by Akhil Raghuram, MD, with hopes of optimizing mask fittings during sleep studies in his sleep lab—and to avoid waking the patients. The machine-learning technology is built on an artificial intelligence infrastructure that continues to maximize accuracy.
 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (November 24, 2020)—The percentage of patients discharged from short-term acute care hospitals (STACH) to home health has risen from 11% in May 2019 to 19% one calendar year later, according to a new report from ATI Advisory.

DALLAS (November 24, 2020)—Hospice Source, a provider of durable medical equipment dedicated to the hospice market, acquired Superior Healthcare, Inc. of Martinez, California. The acquisition furthers Hospice Source's position as the largest provider of hospice focused durable medical equipment in the state of California. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 24, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Care Compare on medicare.gov in September, to streamline the eight original health care compare tools. Since then, providers have had the opportunity to use and familiarize themselves with Care Compare while having the option to use the original compare tools, too.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 23, 2020)—On December 1 and December 2, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association (HHFMA) will present two new webinars that are must-attend for all financial managers in the industry.