WASHINGTON—The four national hospice provider organizations—LeadingAge, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI)—
NAHC
WASHINGTON (December 15, 2022)—The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) discussed a proposal to reduce the 2023 Medicare base payment rate for home health agencies by 7% during the commission’s annual December meeting, the National Association for Homecare and Hospice (NAHC) reports. NAHC said that would virtually guarantee reduced access to home health care.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 1, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for Medicare home health payments on October 31, settling on a rate reduction of 3.925% for 2023 with additional cuts to come in 2024. That's less than the 7.69% cut initially proposed by the agency for 2023, but still a blow to providers, according to industry advocates.
DALLAS (October 27, 2022)–Homecare Homebase (HCHB) has partnered with CellTrak and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice to offer 15 scholarships worth $1,000 each to homecare aides. The scholarship winners will be announced on CellTrak's & Homecare Homebase’s social media platforms starting November 1.
Updated Oct. 27 at 7:37 Eastern time to include additional quotes from Bill Tauzin.
ST. LOUIS (October 25, 2022)—The National Association for Home Health & Hospice (NAHC) took some time from the annual conference to recognize the contributions of staff and industry advocate.
ST. LOUIS (October 25, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) announced a new strategic initiative today at its annual conference.
Unveiled as NAHC 2.75, the new initiative builds on the goals of NAHC 2.0, which launched in 2018 with the goal of improving the membership experiences and advocacy of the organization.
ST. LOUIS (October 25, 2022)—As the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) Annual Convention and Expo concluded today in St. Louis, Missouri, one issue loomed over the attendees: What will happen with the federal government's home health final payment rule, which must be released no later than Nov. 2?
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 4, 2022)—On Sept. 29, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the list of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that will participate in the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model during Calendar Year (CY) 2023, including those that will participate in the MA VBID Hospice Benefit Component (an offshoot of the larger VBID model which began operation in January 2021).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 30, 2022)—The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 required the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement various hospice survey reforms. In the CY 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) final rule, CMS addressed these reforms, including development of a hospice special focus program (SFP).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 16, 2022)—Calling the government’s proposed changes to Medicaid home health services “baffling,” the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) submitted more than 100 pages of comments and supporting materials today arguing against the proposed rule.
LAS VEGAS (July 26, 2022)—Two senators have co-sponsored legislation that would prevent proposed Medicare rate cuts for home health agencies, and a companion in the House is expected to follow later this week, the National Association for Homecare and Hospice (NAHC) announced.
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. & WASHINGTON, DC (July 21, 2022)—The call for nominations is officially open for the annual CellTrak Home Care Aide Scholarship, benefiting aides across the country with scholarships to continue their educational efforts and further their home-based care careers. This year, the scholarship amounts have been doubled, increasing from $500 to $1,000 for 15 deserving aides.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (July 15, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is planning to bring legislation that would freeze reimbursement rates for five years, Calvin McDaniel, the organization’s director of government affairs, said in a webinar hosted by Polsinelli.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 8, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and a group of likeminded organizations have written to Brian Slater, director of the Division of Home Health and Hospice in the Center for Medicare Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reiterate strong support for the authority of nurse practitioners (NPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) to order and certify home health services for Medicare beneficiaries.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 21, 2022)—The annual proposed rule for Medicare home health services includes an estimated 4.2% or $810 million decrease in aggregate payments, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in its fact sheet on the rule. The rule would apply to calendar year 2023.
PORTLAND, Maine (June 10, 2022)—Home health nurse case managers with smaller caseloads typically have better quality of care and patient satisfaction ratings, according to LeadingAge’s“National Healthcare at Home Best Practices and Future Insights Study.” The association for nonprofit aging service providers released the results of the yearlong study this week.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) and BAYADA Home Health Care recently kicked off a new initiative to improve conditions, pay and recognition for homecare workers (BIRMINGHAM, Ala (May 18, 2022)—There’s a new coalition of homecare providers and associations taking on the home health nurse and caregiver shortage. The Home Care Workforce Alliance (HCWA), which is seeking to improve recruiting and retention in the home caregiver workforce, kicked off its initiatives with a conference call today.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 28, 2022)—Home health providers participating in the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model are performing 7% better than their counterparts, according to a new report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations (CMMI). The model covers Medicare-certified home health providers in Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Washington, Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska and Tennessee.
ST. LOUIS (April 6, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is now accepting proposals to present new education at the 2020 Home Care and Hospice Conference & Expo in America's Center Convention Complex, St. Louis, Missouri, Oct.23-25, 2022.
The deadline for submissions is April 18, 2022.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 1, 2022)—On Monday, March 28th, President Biden released a $5.8 trillion proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which begins Oct. 1, 2022. While the White House budget is simply a request and Congress has final say on government spending, it does provide a window into the president’s priorities and where his administration wants to direct its efforts going forward.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 22, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and a coalition of long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) and health information technology (HIT) groups have submitted comments to an important congressional task force exploring ways to accelerate innovation in the health care system.