WASHINGTON—Nearly 100 home medical equipment (HME) advocates will be meeting screen-to-screen with members of Congress and staff to build support for Medicare reimbursement relief legislation on Monday’s special Virtual Hill Day (Nov. 13) with American Association for Homecare (AAHC). The follow-up session to AAHC's Sept. 20 virtual fly-in is focused on raising awareness and understanding the importance of including measures from S. 1294 and H.R.

SPARTANBURG, South Carolina—RedSail Technologies, a provider of pharmacy management systems and services, announced PioneerRx, QS/1 and PowerLine have earned certified status by HITRUST for information security.  

WATERLOO, Iowa—Greg Packer of U.S. Rehab has announced his retirement as president, effective at the end of 2023.

Packer will still maintain his relationship with VGM on a consulting basis through at least 2024 and will maintain his position as the current president of the National Coalition For Assistive & Rehab Technology (NCART).

WASHINGTON—The Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC or the Institute) and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) released the 2023 RIHC Home Care Chartbook. Highlighting the role homecare plays in caring for an aging demographic, the Chartbook provides a look at the patients being served in home health, who they are demographically and clinically and the workforce that cares for them.

NEW YORK—Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in midmarket companies, announced a minority structured equity and junior debt investment in the Worldwide Home Care division of Sodexo (the "Company"), which provides in–home care in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Brazil. The investment supported the acquisition of the Company led by private equity firm The Halifax Group.

ROSEVILLE, California—Always Best Care Senior Services caregivers around the country often see their clients experiencing winter and holiday doldrums when the daylight hours become shorter and temperatures grow colder.

BOSTON—Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross") announced that it will remove prior authorization requirements for homecare services for commercial members beginning Jan. 1, 2024. This means hospitalized members will not be required to get advance approval before being discharged to continue treatment at home.

Homecare services include:

NEW YORK—Tomorrow Health, a home-based health care platform, released new data with Geisinger Health Plan (GHP), illustrating how improving home-based care delivery can have measurable impacts on health plan costs, member satisfaction and overall health outcomes for patients. 
 

WASHINGTON—On Monday, Nov. 6, the Biden-Harris Administration proposed steps to fix Medicare Advantage's (MA) use of prior authorization as well as curb predatory marketing within MA plans.

NEWARK, New Jersey—The owner of a marketing company located in India admitted his role in conspiracies to commit healthcare fraud and to pay and receive illegal kickbacks, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced.