Community-Based Palliative Care Benefit Could Shake Up the Home Health Market

Today, in-home care providers that offer palliative care services typically do so as a way to win referrals and bridge gaps between home health and hospice. Launching palliative care service lines is a strategic decision focused more on patient care than reimbursement opportunities, considering there’s still no fully baked community-based benefit in fee-for-service Medicare. But […]

Mission Healthcare Plans Palliative Care Rollout, Multi-State Expansion

Mission Healthcare — one of the largest regional home health, hospice and palliative care providers in Southern California — is on the move. Earlier this month, the San Diego-based company completed its acquisition of Alliance Home Health & Hospice Care, a Medicare-certified home health and hospice organization in Pleasanton. The acquisition is Mission’s first outside […]

‘The Final Frontier’: Mount Sinai Partners with Contessa for Home-Based Palliative Care Initiative

Mount Sinai Health System is doubling down on its partnership with Contessa. Specifically, the New York-based health system announced Monday that it’s working with Contessa to expand its community-based palliative care service. Mount Sinai’s network includes eight hospital campuses, in addition to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. On its end, the Nashville, […]

How TRU Community Care Used Telehealth to Revamp Its Palliative Care Program

Despite a vital need for palliative care in community settings, home-based care providers have been slow to invest in such services. Providers have often cited financial concerns as a roadblock. Yet those providers that have turned their attention to palliative care frequently see positive returns. TRU Community Care, for example, saw its palliative care segment […]

‘Our Work Begins with Getting COVID Under Control’: What a Biden Administration Means for Home-Based Care

After one of the closest and most hotly contested campaigns in modern history, President-Elect Joe Biden addressed the nation on Saturday from an outdoor platform in Wilmington, Delaware. While it’s far too early to say what the first 100 days of a Biden administration will look like from a detailed policy perspective, the president-elect has […]

Why Complex Care Management Is Charter Healthcare’s ‘Crown Jewel’

In the midst of the in-home care M&A resurgence, Charter Healthcare Group has made a few moves of its own. Its recent acquisitions of Heartwood Home Health & Hospice and Vitality Home Healthcare reflect its two-pronged acquisition growth strategy. Founded in 2006, Charter is a rapidly growing PE-backed post-acute care platform company. Lately, when it […]

Home-Based Palliative Care Programs Were Among the Hardest Hit by COVID-19

In spring, the U.S. recording more than 100,000 new COVID-19 infections per day seemed impossible. Yet surges in nearly every state pushed Wednesday’s daily total to more than 107,000 new infections — a global record. Armed with months of experience, in-home care providers are now preparing for another round of coronavirus-induced disruption in the form […]

Home Health Providers Find Telehealth Reimbursement in Palliative Care

Telehealth adoption has dramatically increased across health care during the COVID-19 crisis, including in the home-based care space. On their end, home health providers have built out their telehealth programs to make more comprehensive and safer care plans for their patients. Unlike other health care practitioners, however, it is much more difficult for a home […]

NAHC Pushing for Palliative Care, SNF-at-Home Medicare Benefits

As home health and home care operators move toward the ninth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to take stock of what has been accomplished from a policy perspective. Many of 2020’s regulatory changes will be fleeting, but others will shape the future of post-acute care for years to come. That was the message […]

As Malpractice Claims Against Home-Based Care Nurses Rise, Providers Must Focus on Risk Management

When it comes to malpractice claims, home-based care nurses are often more susceptible compared to their counterparts in other nursing specialties. That’s a fact that has held true for a while, too. Home-based care nurses — including home health, hospice and palliative care professionals — have seen a steady rise in professional liability claims since […]