The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) introduced this week its first ever national strategy plan to support family caregivers. The comprehensive plan — officially called the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers — lays out nearly 350 actions the federal government needs to take in order to make the lives of […]
HHS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are taking steps to improve oncology care and primary care this week. While both are not directly related to home-based care, the federal government pushing this agenda should pique providers’ interest. After all, both primary and oncology […]
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – through the U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – announced that states would have an additional year to use funding from the American Rescue Plan to both enhance and expand home- and community-based services (HCBS). The news is major for home-based […]
The traditional brick-and-mortar hospital system is broken, often leaving patients in a condition that’s worse than when they first arrived. That’s according to a May report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The findings throw further support for facility-based care alternatives, including the types of hospital-at-home models […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday opted to renew the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), keeping in place several regulatory waivers that have been critical lifelines for home health and hospice operators since the start of 2020. While the extension itself is not surprising, it offers further stability as operators […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Friday that it is releasing another $25.5 billion under the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). Since a first round of $46 billion was sent to over 320,000 Medicare providers in April 2020, HHS has released tens of billions of follow-on dollars through a mix of general […]
Home health providers may have some additional financial aid in the not-too-distant future, as the federal government reportedly inches closer toward disbursing another round of CARES Act funds. As they wait for details, home health providers and other Medicare-reimbursed organizations on Friday received new reporting requirements and deadlines for the COVID-19 relief dollars they received […]
When President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan in March, he locked in an important payment bump for Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Among its many provisions, the $1.9 trillion legislative package raises the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) for certain Medicaid HCBS by 10% from April 1 of 2021 through March 31 […]
U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly highlighted a need to rethink the nation’s long-term care landscape in recent months, partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but also because of the country’s rapidly changing demographics. A recently published budget report from the House Appropriations Committee obtained by Home Health Care News offers further insight into that call […]
There’s a new name being circulated for President Joe Biden’s top pick to lead the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Chiquita Brooks-LaSure — a former policy official who played a key role in guiding the Affordable Care Act through passage and implementation — is now the likeliest candidate to run CMS, according […]
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