As the breadth and depth of home health care continues to grow, providers are exposed to an abundance of opportunities. To get a crack at that upside, however, providers will need to overcome and adapt to a litany of challenges. Those that don’t could contribute to the consolidation that the home health industry is already […]
Category: Medicare
Home health services are a vital component of care continuity. But nurses are less likely to give Black patients, compared to white patients, home health referrals when being discharged from a hospital stay, a new University of Michigan study found. Specifically, researchers found that roughly 22% of Black patients were receiving home health referrals by […]
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 […]
There are significant differences in home-based medical care utilization between Medicare Advantage (MA) and traditional Medicare beneficiaries. Specifically, having exactly one home-based medical care visit was 31 times as likely for MA beneficiaries, at 18.6%, compared to traditional Medicare beneficiaries at 0.6%. That’s likely, in part, due to incentives in the MA program to code […]
The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) continues to save Medicare over a billion dollars annually. And some of the highest-performing, most innovative Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the program continue to generate savings by effectively using home-based care. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday that MSSP saved Medicare $1.8 […]
An extensive body of research exists highlighting the differences in post-acute care utilization between fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries and those enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA). Generally, that research has suggested that MA enrollees utilize post-acute care services less than their FFS counterparts, often with either better or equal health outcomes. A study published Friday in […]
The number of Medicare-certified home health agencies in the United States continues to dwindle, the latest data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reveals. While not a dramatic drop, the decrease in the home health provider ranks is important considering pending cuts from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Advocates fear […]
If finalized as is, the home health proposed payment rule for next year could lead to larger cuts than originally estimated. That’s according to an analysis from Homecare Homebase (HCHB), which pulled data from its vast customer base, representing nearly 50% of all Medicare-certified home health visits. Released on June 30, the FY 2024 home […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its FY 2024 home health proposed payment rule Friday. For next year, CMS is proposing to decrease aggregate home health payments by 2.2%, or an estimated $375 million less compared to 2023 levels. The draft is expected to be officially published in the Federal Register […]
The U.S. government is projected to accelerate its spending on home health services in 2023. Then, from 2025 to 2031, annual home health spending will grow at a rate faster than any other health care category. That’s according to new estimates from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
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