hospice

WASHINTON, D.C. (December 21, 2021)—A federal appeals court has reinstated the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccination or testing policy for large private businesses, reversing an earlier court ruling that had halted the mandate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 17, 2021)—On November 16, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) published the report titled, “Medicare Improperly Paid Suppliers an Estimated $117 Million Over 4 Years for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies Provided to Hospice Beneficiaries.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 16, 2021)—Late last week, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an advisory body to the U.S. Congress, verbally approved the following recommendations, with a formal vote will be taken at a January meeting. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has provided a summary of those recommendations:

ATLANTA (December 14, 2021)—Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc., a diversified homecare platform focused on providing care to medically complex, high-cost patient populations, announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Comfort Care, a home health and hospice company with operations in Alabama and Tennessee, for $345 million, representing $290 million of value, net of the present value of approximately $55 million in estimated net tax benefits.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 10, 2021)—The national average hourly rate for hospice aides (CNAs) increased 4.52% in 2021, according to the just released 2021-2022 Hospice Salary & Benefits Report, published by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS) in cooperation with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).

AUSTIN, Texas (December 9, 2021)—Two doctors who helped a local hospice agency scam Medicare were sentenced to a combined 23 years in prison for health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 7, 2021)—On an annual basis, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issues a financial report that provides fiscal and high-level performance results that allow for the assessment of HHS’s performance over the previous fiscal year.

CLEARWATER & SARASOTA, Fla. (December 7, 2021)—Empath Health is pleased to announce Rhonda Sanders as its Chief Mission Access Officer, a senior-level position charged with helping Empath grow as a customer-driven organization and sparking growth in consumers, payers and referral sources for each service line.

Updated Dec. 1, 2021, at 3:22 p.m. to include statement from NAHC.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (November 30, 2021)—A judge has blocked enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers in 10 rural states pending a trial over whether the federal government exceeded its authority in issuing the nationwide requirement.

SUNRISE, Fla. (November 10, 2021)—Interim HealthCare Inc., a franchise network of homecare, senior care, home health, hospice and health care staffing services, released a new national study examining the shifting perspectives around access to medical care and changing opinions on health care careers brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (November 9, 2021)—IntellaTriage, a provider of after-hours nurse-based phone triage, has announced the addition of Ashley Calloway as director of clinical operations. In this role, Calloway will provide strategic leadership and direction for all clinical functions, ensuring nurses are sufficiently supported and patients receive the highest quality of care. 

TORONTO (November 9, 2021)—Integracare Inc., a provider of private home health care in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, has acquired Eldercare Home Health Inc.

Eldercare Home Health has been providing registered nurse supervised and case managed home health care in Toronto since 1995. Eldercare Home Health has served thousands of clients and families throughout Toronto focusing exclusively on providing high quality personal support services and home health care for seniors. 

HARRISBURG, Penn (November 5, 2021)—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Geisinger Community Health Services (GCHS) has agreed to pay $18 million+ to resolve allegations of civil liability for submitting claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations. GCHS voluntarily disclosed the violations.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (November 3, 2021)—Complia Health, a home health and hospice technology solutions provider, announced the launch of Suncoast Mobile Edge, a mobile electronic visit verification (EVV) solution being released as an enhancement to the company’s Suncoast software platform. This new offering further demonstrates the company’s commitment to delivering a world class consumer and caregiver experience that advances proactive, predictive health management.

Updated Nov. 3 at 7:22 a.m. with statement from Bill Dombi.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 2, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its awaited final rule affecting home health today, expanding the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model (HHVBP) and increasing payment rates for home health by 3.2% in 2022. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 2, 2021)—At a recent virtual event, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) leaders, including Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Director Liz Fowler, unveiled the agency’s refreshed strategic vision for developing, implementing, and evaluating new care delivery and payment model demonstrations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 29, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has submitted a proposal to conduct a mode experiment to test the effects of a web-based mode on response rates and scores, to the Office of Management and Budget.

The CMS proposal, an information collection request titled The Home Health Care CAHPS Survey (HHCAHPS) Mode Experiment, would be an addition to the three currently approved modes – mail, telephone and mail combined.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 28, 2021)—Encompass Health Corp. has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against former executive April Anthony in state District Court in Dallas County, Texas, alleging breach of her employment agreement with Encompass Health, including breach of non-competition and non-solicitation obligation, and for misappropriation of trade secrets.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 26, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated Chapter 9 of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual to provide clarification for two hospice items:

NEW YORK (October 26, 2021)—Wellspring Capital Management, a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York, announced that it has partnered with management to complete the acquisition of Caring Brands International, Inc. (CBI). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 12, 2021)—Hospice providers have been anxiously awaiting additional information on two new Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) measures:

•    Hospice Visits in Last Days of Life (HVLDL)
•    Hospice Care Index (HCI)