One of the oldest home-based care providers in the country is closing up shop.
The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit home health care provider, will end its operations on Oct. 28. The organization — which offers home health, hospice and palliative care — had been in business for 138 years.
The organization cited “unsustainable financial losses” as the reason behind the closure, according to a brief statement on its website.
“We are grateful for the dedication and compassion of the VNA staff, whose impact has been deeply felt by individuals and families across our region,” the organization wrote in the statement. “VNA is working to ensure smooth transitions for all patients and families, and to identify opportunities for team members within the [Public Health Management Corporation] family of services.”
The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia was founded in 1886, and is a subsidiary of Public Health Management Corporation, a Philadelphia-based public health institute.
In 2022, The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia was purchased by Public Health Management Corporation.
At the time, The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia disclosed that it served about 700 home health patients, as well as 120 hospice patients.
The organization’s closure will result in the loss of over 100 jobs, according to reports from the Philadelphia Business Journal.
In 2023, The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia saw a net income loss of almost $3.9 million. In 2021, the organization experienced a net income loss of $3.2 million, according to data from ProPublica.
In general, home-based care providers are facing a number of financial headwinds.
On June 26, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its home health proposed payment rule for 2025. The rule includes a roughly $280 million proposed payment decrease. This was the third year in a row that CMS proposed major cuts.
Additionally, potential clawbacks – for what CMS considers overpayments to providers – are looming over the industry at large.
Aside from the proposed rule, home health providers are operating in an environment that is experiencing increased Medicare Advantage (MA) penetration.
In 2024, 32.8 million people are enrolled in a MA plan. This means that more than half of the eligible Medicare population is enrolled in an MA plan, according to data from KFF brief.
Home health providers have been extremely vocal about, oftentimes not receiving fair rates from MA plans. However, recent rulemaking may have an impact on the speed in which MA is growing in the future.
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