WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 17, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—today urged lawmakers in Congress to prioritize enactment of provisions of the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Act before the end of the congressional session. The PADME Act would reinstate the phase-in period of deep Medicare cuts to home respiratory care supplies and services.
CMS
WASHINGTON (November 15, 2016)—Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2017 premiums for the Medicare inpatient hospital (Part A) and physician and outpatient hospital services (Part B) programs.
Medicare Part B Premiums/Deductibles
Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment and other items.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 11, 2016)—Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to update Medicare fire protection guidelines for certain dialysis facilities to ensure that patients are protected from fire while receiving treatment in those facilities. CMS strives to promote health and safety for all patients, family and staff in every provider and supplier setting, and fire safety requirements are an important part of this effort.
—Via CMS, WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 11, 2016)—We’ve discussed a number of times how our country’s health care system historically invested far more in treating sickness than maintaining health. This imbalance contributes to more spending on institutions, hospitals and nursing homes, rather than keeping people healthy at home and in their communities.
ATLANTA (November 2, 2016)—Day three at Medtrade got off to an optimistic start with United States Representative Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga) telling attendees that there was a “significant possibility that we can get a year’s delay [on bid expansion] starting January 1, 2017.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 31, 2016)—CMS issued a final rule last week, covering end-stage renal care and changes to the DME competitive bidding program. Provisions of interest to the home medical equipment community include:
Bid Ceilings—Bid ceilings for future rounds will be based on the 2015 fee unadjusted fee schedule, instead of CMS's earlier proposal to establish bid ceilings at the current CBA pricing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 27, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce the inclusion of Veterans Administration (VA) hospital performance data. The VA hospital performance data can be found via a link on Hospital Compare, here.
ARLINGTON, Va. (October 20, 2016)—The final report from the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (AHHQI)’s Future of Home Health Project was published online this month in the peer-reviewed journal Home Health Care Management and Practice.
WASHINGTON, D.C (October 19, 2016)—A study released today by the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) shows that Medicare reimbursement rates for home medical equipment cover just 88 percent of overall costs for companies providing this service.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 18, 2016)—Dan Starck, chair of CQRC, responds to the GAO Access Report on Competitive Bidding:
"While the CQRC has supported competitive bidding in concept, we remain deeply concerned about the implementation of the competitive bidding program. Today's report shows that fewer beneficiaries are receiving home oxygen therapy in light of competitive bidding."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (October 17, 2016)—Almost Family, Inc.—a leading provider of home health nursing services—today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the entity holding the home health and hospice assets of Community Health Systems, Inc. (referred to herein as CHS Home Health, pertaining solely to the home health and hospice business of CHS).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 12, 2016)—David J. Totaro, chairman of the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care (PMHC), issued the following statement today in response to a recent call by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning improved program integrity in personal care services:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 3, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) announced the participants in the Part D Enhanced Medication Therapy Management (MTM) model.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 29, 2016)—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare—a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality and efficiency of home health care for our nation's seniors—commended Congressmen Tom Price, MD (R-GA) and Jim McGovern (D-MA), as well as original cosponsors Reps.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 28, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 2017 Medicare Advantage premiums will remain stable and more enrollees will have access to higher quality plans while, for the seventh straight year, enrollment is projected to increase to a new all-time high.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 22, 2016)—In July, CMS proposed new bundled payment models that continue the administration’s progress to shift Medicare payments from rewarding quantity to rewarding quality by creating strong incentives for hospitals and clinicians to deliver better care to patients at a lower cost. These proposed new bundled payment models focus on heart attacks, heart bypass surgery and hip fracture surgery.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 20, 2016)—The Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) today commended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to delay implementation of the Home Health Pre-Claim Review Demonstration to additional states including Florida, which was originally scheduled for October 1.
WATERLOO, Iowa (September 7, 2016)—VGM’s Government Relations team is spearheading a grassroots effort to recruit hospital executives to join the fight against Medicare’s most recent cut to reimbursements.
On July 1 DME providers incurred an additional 25 percent cut for Medicare reimbursements due to the Competitive Bidding Program. Many sectors across the health care industry are feeling the aftershock of difficulties stemming from the DME industry.
CEO: $60 Million ClearCare Funding Puts Honor, Hometeam on Notice
Home care software company ClearCare has secured a $60 million funding round, led by global investment firm Battery Ventures. (Tim Mullaney/Home Health Care News)
WASHINGTON, D.C (August 26, 2016)—Home medical equipment providers who serve our nation’s military personnel are being hit with shocking new Medicare reimbursement cuts thanks to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to widely apply rates from its competitive bidding program outside its original footprint in metro areas to now encompass the entire country.