To be the beneficiaries of an overwhelming amount of home health demand, providers have to take on a larger share of Medicare Advantage (MA) patients. In the short-term, that doesn’t come off as a financially shrewd strategy, but it makes sense from a long-term perspective. Last week, I wrote about a potential “leveling off” of […]
Amedisys Inc.
Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) is waiting for multiple big-time transactions to come to fruition by year end. In the meantime, it continues to grow its non-Medicare revenue and its high-acuity care business considerably. The company released its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, without an accompanying call. It has not held an official earnings call since UnitedHealth […]
While waiting for UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) purchase of it to finalize, Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) continues to grow its home health segment – primarily through non-Medicare revenue – and its higher-acuity care segment. The company reported its first-quarter earnings late Wednesday, which showed a 10% increase in total same store admissions in home health […]
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) announced combination plans last June, under which home health giant Amedisys would become part of Optum. Amedisys had previously entered into an agreement to merge with infusion therapy company Option Care Health (Nasdaq: OPCH), but UnitedHealth Group’s offer, scale and complementary clinical capabilities were effectively too […]
Most buyers in home health and personal care are signaling they’ll be more active in the M&A market this year. That’s according to a new Mertz Taggart report, which included responses from over 50 potential home-based care buyers. Nearly 80% said they planned to be more acquisitive in 2024 compared to 2023. But some of […]
Since the news surfaced Tuesday that the Department of Justice had opened an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), additional questions have bubbled up. Namely, those questions surround the home health provider Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), which agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in June of last year. Will that deal be […]
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 […]
Staffing shortages, rate cuts and Medicare Advantage penetration will continue to be trends in the home health market in 2024. Those aren’t new. What is new, however, is how providers plan to combat the issues that stem from those trends. Home health leaders are focused on mitigating margin compression, utilizing more technology, leveraging artificial intelligence, […]
Hiring for nurses, caregivers, aides and other roles in home health and home care is extremely challenging. Between keeping up with rising wages due to inflation and the cost of living, to offering adequate training and education to new hires, recruitment and retention is a constant battle for providers. One area that has risen to […]
Home health providers’ battle for fair reimbursement from Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be a “generational battle,” and not one they will win overnight. But, at least for larger home health providers, their strategies in that battle are much more definitive than they were even a few years ago. Luke James, the president of VitalCaring, […]