Navigating financial challenges in home health care
reimbursement
Pioneering value-based strategies for future success
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (November 4, 2022)—AAHomecare's Payer Relations Council has been working on highlighting the value of the home medical equipment (HME) and creating consistent messaging and tangible resources providers can use to speak with payers, Medicaid programs and state legislators.
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.
Washington, D.C. (October 21, 2022)—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) recently released the results of an independent study that found the Medicare home health sector faces increased demand, a dwindling talent pool, and financial challenges due to inflation and pressures from the pandemic.
Reduce claim denials & speed up your cycle with automation
Shifting your enrollment status may help reimbursement rates across the industry
NEW YORK (August 31, 2022)—HHAeXchange, a provider of homecare management solutions for payers, providers and state Medicaid agencies, announced it has appointed three seasoned industry experts to its leadership team. The executives are James (JC) Stanton, chief financial officer; Todd Bransford, chief product officer; and Nicholas Fahrney, chief security and compliance officer.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (August 23, 2022)—The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) will hold its first-ever home and specialty infusion payer summit Nov. 2 in Dallas, Texas. NHIA’s goal is to provide education and discuss industry trends to help commercial health insurance plans better leverage home infusion to lower the total cost of care.
AKRON, Ohio (August 19, 2022)—ACU-Serve Corp. has acquired ECS Billing & Consulting North. ECS was based in Tiffin, Ohio, and founded by Sarah Hanna, a well-known industry veteran who will assume a role as V.P. of Consulting Services at ACU-Serve Corp.
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.
Adjust your agency's assessment attitude
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 20, 2022)—Prochant, a revenue cycle management (RCM) provider with more than 20 years' experience, particularly in the home medical equipment (HME) space, announced a partnership with VGM & Associates to be the member service organization’s official partner for focused billing solutions.
BIRMINGHM, Ala. (May 13, 2022)—Medicaid can directly pay for independent home health aides' benefits, including health insurance and skills training, according to a final rule the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Thursday. The final rule allows State Medicaid agencies to provide home health aides not working with an agency employee benefit premiums and union dues deducted from their paychecks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 10, 2022)—Legislation to apply 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement rate for home medical equipment (HME) in former competitive bidding areas (CBA) has been formally introduced in the United States House of Representatives. The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2022 (HR 6641) would boost rates for items in the 13 product categories whose bid results were not implemented in Round 2021. These increased rates would apply from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023.
Legislation is the best route to securing realistic Medicare reimbursement rates
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 28, 2022)—BAYADA Home Health Care Inc. is laying off nearly 700 employees in the state of Florida.
Notices went out Monday, Jan. 24, to the impacted employees, with layoffs effective as of April 1, 2022.
The company is closing its Assistive Care State Program, part of the state’s Medicaid home health program, eliminating 12 job positions and 682 employees.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 27, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the 2021 Medicare Fee-For-Service Supplemental Improper Payment Data report. This is an annual report published by CMS’s Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program that is intended to measure the improper payments made in the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program.
[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.