Here’s How Home Health Agencies Want to Fix Audits

If there’s one word that can instantly strike fear in the heart of a home health care business owner, it is, perhaps, “audit.” That’s because agencies can be subjected to an audit of their records and health care claims at any point, seemingly at the mere will of a state or federal agency. As some in the […]

Monday Jump-Start: The Obamacare Replacement Bill

Happy Monday, Home Health Care Readers. After celebrating the first official summer weekend, catch up on all things home health and home care with our Monday Jump-Start. Last week, we clued you in to the news that an overhaul of the Medicare payment model could be coming down the pike in the near future, with […]

Amedisys Star Ratings Rise 15% Under New Clinical Strategy

After significant executive shuffles over the last year, Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) may be hitting a stride in its clinical operations, if the latest star ratings are any indication. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based home health care provider has seen a 15% increase in its average Medicare star rating on Home Health Compare from a year ago, […]

Bill to Expand Telehealth Advances in Senate

A bill working its way through the Senate could expand in-home care, including by make it easier for seniors with chronic illnesses to access telehealth. Members of the Senate Finance Committee on May 18 voted to advance the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017 (S. 870). Among other things, the […]

Amedisys CEO Says Improving Home Health Growth is ‘Non-Negotiable’

As Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) promoted its new branding and image, its core service line—home health care—dwindled in growth, first-quarter 2017 earnings results revealed. However, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company saw an overall stellar start to 2017, including an increase in revenue and significant growth in its hospice segment. Amedisys beat analysts’ expectations for the quarter, reporting adjusted […]

‘Rural Safeguard’ Funding Needs Extension, Advocates Say

A 3% cost bump provided by Medicare that helps pay for the added expense of providing home health care services to those in rural areas should be extended, according to The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare. The 3% Medicare payment, known as the “rural safeguard,” has been an add-on payment to home health providers operating […]

Agency Sues ZPIC and Price, Seeks Class Action Status

Just before Thanksgiving in 2016, Rizaldy Villasenor got some unexpected news that would impact his home health care business and cause him to lay off employees and discharge many of the company’s patients. A Medicare subcontractor slapped the Chicago-based agency, MedPro Health Providers, LLC, with an audit and determined improper payments had been made. That subcontractor, AdvanceMed, […]

CMS Proposes Six-Month Delay for Home Health CoPs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed delaying the implementation date for the new home health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) until January 2018. The proposal comes after home health industry associations and providers pushed back against the original implementation timeline for the CoPs, which were finalized in early January 2017. Instead of going […]

Hospice Utilization Continues to Decline Nationwide

Among Medicare-eligible patients, hospice utilization has been declining for years. Specifically, hospice utilization among Medicare-eligible patients nationwide totaled about 2.55% in 2015, down from 2.59% in 2014 and 2.67% in 2013, according to a new analysis from Healthcare Market Resources. The Pennsylvania-based health care market intelligence firm calculated hospice utilization by dividing the number of […]

Rural Patients Less Likely to Use Home Health

Where a patient lives has a lot of influence over whether they receive inpatient or home health care after a hospital discharge, according to one recent study. As such, Medicare spending is variable based on urban or rural care settings. Out of a sample of 1.56 million discharges of urban patients from urban hospitals and […]