LAFAYETTE, La. (September 9, 2021)—LHC Group, Inc. announced significant expansions of its nationwide footprint, resources and service capabilities. The company has entered into an agreement to purchase Brookdale Health Care Services agencies from the recently formed home health, hospice and outpatient therapy venture between HCA Healthcare and Brookdale Senior Living Inc.

Updated to include quote from BAYADA.

MOORESTOWN, N.J. (September 9, 2021)—BAYADA, BAYADA Home Health Care Inc., BAYADA Health LLC and BAYADA Home Care (collectively, the BAYADA Companies), headquartered in Moorestown, New Jersey, have agreed to pay $17 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act’s Anti-Kickback Statute by paying a kickback to a retirement home operator by purchasing two of its home health agencies (HHAs) located in Arizona.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 8, 2021)—Leaders of the durable medical equipment (DME) industry announced the formation of DMEscripts LLC, an independent e-prescribe company dedicated to improving the patient, prescriber and provider experience by eliminating inefficiencies and reducing paperwork.

Washington, D.C. (September 7, 2021)—It is with regret that the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) must announce the cancellation of the 2021 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo, originally scheduled for Oct. 3-5, 2021, in New Orleans.

This decision was not made lightly, and we are enormously grateful for the support so many people showed for the homecare and hospice community by registering to join their fellow industry leaders at the conference.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 7, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated in an August 2021 MLNConnects newsletter that the agency will resume the targeted probe and educate (TPE) program that was suspended in March 2020 (as were most medical reviews) due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

Some medical reviews resumed in August 2020, despite the PHE, but the TPE program remained on pause.

ATLANTA (September 7, 2021)—In mid-August, the United States’ Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Kevin Rumph, Jr., 41, of Fairburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft of medical products. Rumph used his U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) issued credit card to buy over $1.9 million worth of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) equipment, which he stole and then sold.