Insurance giant Humana (NYSE: HUM) is rolling out senior-focused primary care clinics in some Walgreens pharmacies and believes that its Kindred at Home division could bring added value. “Does [Walgreens’] combination of brand, geography, familiarity, comfort — does that create a step-change in customers’ willingness to engage with us, whether in the store or virtually?” Humana […]
Private equity firm Onex Corp. is considering a sale of home care giant BrightSpring Health, formerly known as ResCare, according to a Sept. 11 report from PE Hub. PE Hub cited “people familiar with the matter” in its article. Onex had not responded to requests for comment from Home Health Care News as of press […]
Long-awaited final rules for Programs for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) could be coming this year, thanks to a bill working its way through the House of Representatives. PACE programs utilize mixed funds from Medicare, Medicaid and private sources to offer a full range of services and support to individuals who are at least […]
Health care executives anticipate that Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is much more likely to shake up the current status quo than other potential disruptors, such as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL) and Walmart (NYSE: WAL). Reaction Data, a full-service research platform for health care organizations, recently surveyed about 100 top executives with hospitals and other […]
Cathy Thorpe did not take a conventional route to becoming CEO of a home care company. She comes from the world of retail, where she rose through the ranks at The Gap, ultimately running operations for the company in both Germany and Canada. Following her career at The Gap, Thorpe became a consultant for small […]
In a major change for the home care industry, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have been granted new flexibility this year, which will allow them to cover non-skilled on-home services for the first time. However, it remains to be seen how much latitude the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will give insurance companies in […]
Making moves to become a larger force in aging-in-place technology, retail giant Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) has agreed to acquire GreatCall for $800 million in cash. GreatCall has developed and sells senior-friendly smartphones, smartwatches, medical alert devices and other technology to support and extend older adults’ independence. “[Best Buy] has recently been investing in health-related […]
The forthcoming Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) could potentially alter the way that home health providers are reimbursed for treating patients with comorbid conditions. These proposed changes should be among the elements of PDGM raising concerns for the industry, considering that they add complexity and yet could result in nearly 95% of providers getting very little […]
Leaders with LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHCG) struck an optimistic tone following the release of second quarter 2018 financial results. The integration of Almost Family is proceeding smoothly, joint venture and acquisition activity is favorable, and forthcoming regulatory changes should not cause major disruptions, they said Thursday during an earnings call. On April 1, LHC Group […]
Home health giant Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) achieved strong financial results in the second quarter of 2018 and is bullish on a variety of industry trends and shifts, including major changes related to Medicare payments and ongoing consolidation across the post-acute care continuum. The company also announced that it has acquired Bring Care Home, which […]