Yet another study suggests that Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries have less access to quality home health services. In a study comparing traditional Medicare beneficiaries and MA beneficiaries in 2019, traditional Medicare beneficiaries were more likely to utilize outpatient, inpatient and home health care services than beneficiaries in MA plans. That was the case regardless of […]
Research Institute for Home Care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) isn’t letting up on cuts to home health payments, but its recent rulemaking in Medicare Advantage (MA) may end up benefiting home health providers indirectly. As MA plans become more scrutinized by regulators and lawmakers – and payment updates come with more meager increases – MA penetration […]
The transition between hospital discharge and home health care is often fraught with issues. Unfortunately, it also happens to be one of the most crucial parts of a patient’s care journey. With more sick and complex patients coming into home health care than ever, a swift start of home health care is also arguably more […]
In 2023, the decreasing influence of COVID-19 did not mitigate the overall operating pressures home health providers were forced to face. In the new year, there still remains plenty of opportunity, but much to work through to tap into that opportunity. More proposed rate cuts to home health reimbursement are expected from the Centers for […]
‘We Need To Go Where The Patients Are’: How Home Health Agencies Are Adjusting To Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has been on a steady climb over the last two decades. As such, home health agencies have started to adjust operations to better fit the payer landscape in the future. Agencies in states like Michigan, Hawaii and Alabama have already had to do that — and those transitions haven’t been seamless. […]
The number of high-quality Medicare-certified home health agencies has gone down slightly over the years, according to data from the recently released 2023 Home Care Chartbook from the Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC). The chartbook is an annual overview of the home health landscape. “A lot of what we know hasn’t really changed for […]
Traditional Medicare beneficiaries are finding they have solid access to home health care. Medicare Advantage (MA) members utilizing home health care, on the other hand, are having a much harder time accessing care. That’s according to data in the newly released 2023 Home Care Chartbook from the Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC). The RIHC […]
When it was first announced that the home health giant LHC Group was being acquired in March 2022, it wasn’t shocking. What was shocking, at least to some, was the buyer – UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) Optum. Though Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) had already acquired Kindred at Home, UnitedHealth Group getting into the mix was […]
The vast majority of Americans prefer to age in place and receive post-hospital care in the home. Despite that fact, current reimbursement structures from fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) often leave providers operating on thin ice. Conveners rationing home health services is another hurdle that needs to be cleared, according to Jennifer Sheets, a […]
Almost half of Medicare beneficiaries utilizing home health care services have five or more chronic conditions. This is also true when looking at Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries, according to data from the Research Institute for Home Care (RIHC). RIHC recently released its 2022 Home Care Chartbook, a detailed overview of the home health landscape that […]
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