Home Health Providers Must Lean Into Mitigation Strategies To Combat CMS Cuts

It’s been almost a month since the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the CY 2024 home health payment rule, and providers and industry stakeholders are still critical of the federal agency’s misconceptions about home health. With cuts coming, operators must lean on mitigation strategies to prepare. That’s one key takeaway from […]

CMS’ Staffing Mandate Proposal For Nursing Homes Could ‘Spell Trouble’ For Home Health Care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) nursing home staffing proposal has been a dark cloud over the industry. Some believe it could spell trouble for home health care as well. In September, CMS released a proposal that would require nursing homes to implement a minimum staffing standard, if finalized. The proposal introduces a […]

How CMS’ Goal To Enroll All Medicare Beneficiaries In ACOs Could Impact Home-Based Care Providers

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has stated its objective to enroll all of its Medicare beneficiaries in accountable care relationships by 2030. Currently, roughly 13.2 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries are assigned to an ACO. With this in mind, there has been more activity and investment around accountable care organizations (ACOs), including […]

CMS Keeps Home Health Providers In Payment Purgatory With 2024 Final Rule, Strikes Contentious Tone With Industry

After the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2024 final payment rule Wednesday, home health providers found themselves in a position they know all too well. Is a 0.8% aggregate payment increase better than the 2.2% decrease that was proposed? Of course. Was the rule, in its totality, effective in […]

[Updated] CMS Finalizes 0.8% Home Health Payment Increase For 2024, Additional PDGM Cuts

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2024 home health final payment rule Wednesday. It comes with an estimated aggregate increase to 2024 home health payments of 0.8%, or $140 million, compared to 2023 aggregate payments. But that doesn’t tell the entire story, with sharp rate cuts also finalized. “The $140 […]

Senators Call On President Biden To Help Protect Home Health Benefit

A group of senators sent a letter to President Joe Biden last week urging him and his administration to look after the Medicare home health benefit. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) all signed […]