WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2020)—Newly available relief from the Provider Relief Fund for entities who billed Medicaid/CHIP programs or Medicaid managed care plans was not available for providers who were eligible for the initial tranche of Medicare-based relief, as noted two weeks ago.
Medicaid
HARTFORD, Conn. (July 1, 2020)—CareCentrix, a provider of tech-enabled post-acute and home-based solutions, is expanding its service offering to Managed Medicaid health plans, and has hired Scott Markovich to serve as the company’s General Manager of Medicaid.
WASHINGTON D.C. (June 23, 2020)—Under the leadership of President Trump, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is calling for a renewed national commitment to value-based care based on Medicare claims data that provides an early snapshot of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the Medicare population.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 19, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has joined a prestigious group of like-minded organizations urging the United States Senate to include Medicaid Home and Community Based Services in the next COVID-19 relief package.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 19, 2020)—As noted last week, HHS opened the application portal for CARES Act relief for Medicaid/CHIP-only providers. The new round of relief is for health care providers who have directly billed their state Medicaid/CHIP programs or Medicaid managed care plans between Jan.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 12, 2020)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has earmarked $15 billion in relief funding for health care providers serving patients under Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs.
AAHomecare advocates for HME industry
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 1, 2020)—The COVID-19 pandemic is causing widespread financial distress for individuals, families, companies, and governments across the nation—including state government budgets. Not surprisingly, some states may be considering reducing Medicaid reimbursement rates for HME and other health care segments as one potential avenue to help relieve these unexpected budgetary pressures.
WASHINTON, D.C. (April 29, 2020)—As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to stress communities in much of the nation, third-party payers and state Medicaid officials are developing new policy guidance to allow health care providers to provide effective care and operate more safely under challenging conditions.
Care in the home becomes a national imperative
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 17, 2020)—Bipartisan leadership of the Senate Finance Committee has announced proposed legislation providing for the extension of several programs within Medicare and Medicaid. Commonly referred to as an “extenders package” the legislation provides for the continuation of programs that are currently on track to exhaust their current funding allocation.
Billing for DME following a nursing home stay
The legislation & regulation that made last year
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (October 3, 2019)—HME stakeholders have persuaded Indiana Medicaid authorities to hold off deep reimbursement cuts along a broad range of HME products that were scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1. The reversal follows a vigorous response to the proposed cuts from Indiana HME suppliers, along with the Great Lakes Home Medical Services Association (Great Lakes), AAHomecare, and other industry groups.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 5, 2019)—The American Association for Homecare’s (AAHomecare) newest council convened for the first time in Arlington, Virginia, last week and got off to a flying start. The initial meeting for the Payer Relations Council focused on establishing strategic objectives for 2020 and beginning to build the road map for the HME industry to succeed outside of the Medicare space.
ATLANTA (September 4, 2019)—Diandra Bankhead, the owner and operator of Elite Homecare (Elite), an Atlanta-based home health care provider, has pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicaid by submitting thousands of fraudulent claims for services that were never provided to medically fragile children under the Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2019)—On Aug.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.(August 7, 2019)—Anthem Blue Cross has partnered with CareMore Health and River City Medical Group (RCMG) to introduce a new, first-of-its kind model of care that provides comprehensive, home-based services for Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal consumers in the Sacramento area who are chronically ill and have complex healthcare needs.
A primer for home health and HME providers
Washington, D.C. (June 27, 2019)—Years of relationship-building between AAHomecare, the South Carolina Medical Equipment Services Association (SCMESA) and South Carolina Medicaid (SC Medicaid) is paying off for durable medical equipment (DME) providers in the state, AAHomecare reports.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2019)—Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report titled, “Medicare And Medicaid CMS Should Assess Documentation Necessary to Identify Improper Payments.” For the report, the GAO examined the portion of the improper payment rates for Medicare and Medicaid programs that are attributed to insufficient documentation.