[UPDATED at 4 p.m. ET]
What group is especially vulnerable to the ravages of covid-19 even if fully vaccinated and boosted? Seniors. And who will have an especially tough time getting free at-home covid tests under the Biden administration’s plan? Yes, seniors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 11, 2022)—The deadline for home health agencies to submit a request for an exemption from participating in the Home Health CAHPS (HH CAHPS) Survey for the CY 2023 Annual Payment Update (APU) is March 31, 2022.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 4, 2022)—The U.S.
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:
GURNEE, IL. (December 15, 2021)—BrightStar Care, a nationwide franchise that provides in-home care, released key findings from an analysis conducted by Avalere Health, a leading U.S.-based health care analytics firm. The analysis evaluated BrightStar Care's client outcomes and cost benefits.
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 U.S. Senate has approved legislation that keeps across-the-board 4% PAYGO cuts to Medicare reimbursement from taking effect in 2022. The House passed S. 610 on Dec. 8. the
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 9, 2021)—Leading health care providers have announced the national collaborative formerly known as the Next Gen ACO Coalition has a new identity as the Value Based Care Coalition. The rebranding reflects the coalition’s evolved commitment to advancing two-sided risk, total cost of care payment agreements with traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage and commercial payers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 8, 2021)—The House of Representatives has passed the Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act (S. 610), legislation to keep across-the-board 4% PAYGO cuts to Medicare reimbursement from taking effect in 2022.
LANSING, Mich. (Nov. 18, 2021)—Amy Bassano, former deputy director for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has joined national healthcare consulting firm Health Management Associates (HMA), taking the helm as a managing director of Medicare services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 21, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new “one-stop shop” for state Medicaid agencies and stakeholders on medicaid.gov to advance transparency and innovation for home- and community-based services.
ATLANTA (October 19, 2021)— The home medical industry has made significant progress in recent months but still faces big challenges in Washington, including the threat of Medicare cuts and uncertainty about competitive bidding, Tom Ryan, president and CEO of the American Association of Homecare, said in his update at Medtrade East.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 30, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 participants in the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model. There is a more than two-fold increase in the number of model enrollees covered by participating MA plans in 2022 compared to 2021.
OAKLAND (August 26, 2021)—California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $3.31 million settlement against home respiratory services company, SuperCare Health Inc. (SuperCare) for defrauding the state and federal government by knowingly billing Medicare and Medi-Cal for servicing ventilators that were no longer medically necessary.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 20, 2021)—The United States Senate has approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution. This resolution will serve as the vehicle for the second part of President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ infrastructure investment, much of which intends to strengthen the social safety net.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 19, 2021)—Stakeholders representing health care providers and end users with medical needs developed a white paper to educate payers and state Medicaid programs on the types of products and services needed to successfully manage an individual’s bowel and bladder needs in a home-based setting to achieve the Triple Aim of improving patient experience and health outcomes while reducing overall cost.
