Responding to charges that President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill would cut Medicaid coverage for millions of Americans, Trump administration officials misleadingly counter that it targets only waste, fraud and abuse.
BALTIMORE, Maryland—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a significant expansion of its auditing efforts for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Beginning immediately, CMS will audit all eligible MA contracts for each payment year in all newly initiated audits and invest additional resources to expedite the completion of audits for payment years 2018 through 2024.
NEW JERSEY—Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) introduced the Protecting Retirement and Health Benefits for Working Families Act to safeguard Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Veterans Affairs and other critical federal benefits and services.
Sherrill said she introduced the bill in response to federal programs and jobs being cut by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
ANN ARBOR, Michigan—Long-term care services help meet health and personal care needs like bathing, dressing and eating when a person can no longer perform them independently. In August 2024, the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging asked a national sample of adults age 50 and older about their experiences with and views on planning and preferences for long-term care.
Just over a year ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state’s 2025 budget into law, enacting legislation that significantly reshaped the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP).
WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released their fall 2024 semiannual report to congress (SAR), which found more than $7 billion in expected recoveries and receivables from misspent Medicare, Medicaid and other health and human services funds.
BALTIMORE, Maryland—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional resources and flexibilities are available in response to Hurricane Milton in Florida. CMS is working with the state of Florida and federal partners to put these flexibilities in place in an effort to ensure those affected by this natural disaster have access to the care they need.
HELENA, Montana—Montana is looking to fast-track Medicaid access for older adults who need help to stay in their homes or towns.
WASHINGTON—Vice President Kamala Harris announced a proposed Medicare at Home benefit designed to help families with caregiving needs and strengthen Medicare. Under the plan, Medicare would cover homecare for the nations’ seniors and those with disabilities who are enrolled in Medicare, as well as vision and hearing benefits aimed at helping seniors live independently for longer.
SPARTANBURG, South Carolina—NationsBenefits, a supplemental benefits and health care financial technology solutions company, announced its partnership with pharmacy software compay RedSail Technologies.
NEW YORK & PORT WASHINGTON, New York—HHAeXchange, a homecare management solutions company for providers, caregivers, managed care organizations and state Medicaid programs, announced it has acquired Sandata Technologies, an innovative technology solutions company for home- and community-based services (HCBS).
WASHINGTON—Aloe Care Health has launched a new division, Aloe Care Health Solutions, to address the needs of health care organizations serving older adults, such as Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, home health and senior living. The announcement was made at the Medical Alert Monitoring Association conference in Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH), a coalition of Medicare home health providers aiming to increase access to quality homecare, released a third-party analysis of Medicare home health fee-for-service claims from 2022 through 2023, which found a decline in access to home health services for patients and families.
WASHINGTON—The House passed 14 new bipartisan health bills. The following bills were passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and passed the House unanimously.
BALTIMORE, Maryland—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional resources and flexibilities are available in response to Hurricane Francine in Louisiana. CMS is working closely with the state of Louisiana to put these flexibilities in place to ensure those affected by the natural disaster have access to the care they need.
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island—Rhode Island’s homecare providers are celebrating this evening’s passage of the state’s fiscal year 2025 (SFY25) budget set to begin on July 1, 2024. Within Article 9 of the budget, the Rhode Island General Assembly (state legislature) approved significant Medicaid fee-for-service rate increases for contracted homecare provider companies. These rate increases include some that are higher than 75% effective Oct. 1, 2024.
WASHINGTON—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) released a statement noting that it was, 'extremely disappointed that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) elected to finalize the “payment adequacy” provision in the Medicaid Access Final Rule (CMS 2442-F).'
WASHINGTON—A White House fact sheet highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration's plans for building on the progress of investments in homecare and long-term care.
