WASHINGTON, D.C.—The COVID-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.
WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated guidance that will extend COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) flexibilities approved in the states' section 1915(c) home- and community-based services (HCBS) waiver Appendix K amendments.
On May 5, the World Health Organization released a statement determining the COVID-19 pandemic no longer warranted a public health emergency of international concern.
WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued additional provider-specific guidance for the winding down of the COVID-19 public health emergency, which is set to end May 11.
WASHINGTON—The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will end May 11, and with it a range of waivers and regulatory changes that have benefited the homecare industry.
WASHINTON, D.C. (September 9, 2022)—More than 1,700 Medicare providers have indications that they fraudulently billed Medicare for telehealth services, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG). These providers billed telehealth services for about half a million beneficiaries and received a total of $127.7 million in Medicare fee-for-service payments.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 19, 2022)—A fourth dose of mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 boosts effectiveness to more than 80% in adults over age 50, according to a new study shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
NAPA, Calif. (July 7, 2022)—In “Truth, Lies & Alzheimer's—Its Secret Faces,” behavioral specialist Lisa Skinner and co-author Douglas Collins devote two entire chapters on how the COVID-19 pandemic isolation triggered faster declines in cognitive health due to loneliness and not being connected.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 7, 2022)—On Friday, June 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), notified states that they now have an additional year—through March 31, 2025—to use funding made available through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to enhance, expand and strengthen home- and community-based services (HCBS) for people with Medicaid who need long-term services and supports.
Nearly 18 months after getting COVID-19 and spending weeks in the hospital, Terry Bell struggles with hanging up his shirts and pants after doing the laundry.
Lifting his clothes, raising his arms, arranging items in his closet leave Bell short of breath and often trigger severe fatigue. He walks with a cane, only short distances. He’s 50 pounds lighter than when the virus struck.
WATERLOO, Iowa (May 12, 2022)—VGM & Associates routinely monitors environmental factors that impact home medical equipment (HME) providers and their ability to effectively provide their products and services to patients who need and rely on them.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 7, 2022)—The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sent a “Dear Provider” letter announcing an opportunity for providers to submit a Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances for PRF Reporting Period 1 if one or more of the extenuating circumstances described below apply.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2022)—The Biden-Harris Administration announced that more than 59 million Americans with Medicare Part B, including those enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, now have access to FDA approved, authorized or cleared over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost. People with Medicare can get up to eight tests per calendar month from participating pharmacies and health care providers for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 31, 2022)—Late last Friday, the Ohio Dept. of Medicaid (ODM) announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had approved the state’s plans to distribute federal American Rescue Plan relief for home and community-based service (HCBS) providers, including durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers.
PHOENIX (March 29, 2022)—Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (F&P) will be showing off its wares at Booth #621 at Medtrade West, scheduled to begin on Monday, April 4 at the Phoenix Convention Center. The Auckland, New Zealand-based F&P recently reported that the company expects full year operating revenue for the 2022 financial year to be in the range of $1.675 billion to $1.70 billion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 25, 2022)—The bipartisan Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act is new legislation introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives that would extend the acute care hospital at home waiver program. Initially introduced in November 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the program provides an alternative setting of care for certain conditions, such as asthma, pneumonia and COPD.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2022)—In a letter urging Congressional leaders to stave off a financial calamity that could harm older adults, Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, called for the continuation of the Medicare “sequestration holiday”—as well as continued and expanded Provider Relief Funds (PRF) to support aging services providers hard hit by continued COVID-19-related expenses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 22, 2022)—The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to request an extension of the public health emergency (PHE) declaration, which is set to expire in a few weeks, so that long-term and post-acute care providers can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible to the nation’s most vulnerable population.
The COVID-19 pandemic kept members of the home infusion industry from meeting in person for two years, but also highlighted the field’s strengths and brought public awareness of home infusion’s potential in the health care continuum, Connie Sullivan, president and CEO of the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA), told members and other attendees recently at the organization’s annual conference.
