“Individuals go into the role of being a caregiver, normally because they have a passion for helping other people,” HHAeXchange President Stephen Vaccaro told Home Health Care News. “They recognize the value that it’s bringing and how fulfilling that could be, and that becomes an area they want to move into. It’s a difficult job, so you must be passionate about it.”

Founded in 2008, New York-based HHAeXchange is a home care management software company focused on the Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) population.

About 60% of the 4,000 caregivers surveyed said that positively impacting their patients’ health and wellbeing is the biggest motivator for their work. Additionally, 57% of caregivers reported taking extra time to record patient observations after each visit, motivated by the knowledge that it could improve their clients’ care.

Moreover, 91% said the relationships they form with the people they care for increase their job satisfaction.

“That was a 17% increase from our survey last year,” Vaccaro said. “I think it speaks to that human bond that individuals form with each other and how important and special that is. That’s what matters to caregivers at the end of the day.”

Another important finding from the survey was caregivers’ interest in receiving professional training as an additional resource to improve their job satisfaction and longevity. Specifically, caregivers said they would be interested in receiving training on reducing stress, understanding how to treat patients with specific illnesses and using additional medical equipment.

“When taking care of an individual, it’s not always easy to focus on yourself,” Vaccaro said. “Training and strategies for interacting with the client’s families or dealing with different illnesses or medical equipment go a long way in helping caregivers do their jobs better. Because ultimately, that’s what’s most important to them. This goes a long way in retaining and bringing more workers into the field. Pay and benefits can’t always be the answer; it has to be a fulfilling job.”

Unsurprisingly, survey data also showed that 34% of respondents found pay to be the most challenging aspect of being a caregiver.

“Are caregivers going to be paid relative to the value they bring? Sadly, no,” Vaccaro said. “The value that they bring is so immense. Many of these individuals would not be able to live their lives at home without these caregivers. You can’t put a dollar amount on that. However, we need to work together as stakeholders in the industry to elevate the role of the caregiver. The industry is evolving, and the stakeholders are beginning to understand the value and importance of caregivers. That needs to continue.”

The post Home Care Worker, Client Bonds Increase Job Satisfaction And Retention appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Across home-based care, companies like Traditions Health, Honor, HomeWell and others are seeing tremendous growth.

In fact, the industry is well-represented on the Inc. 5000 2024 ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. This year, 29 companies in the broader home-based care space made appearances on the list. 

In order to decide who makes its list, Inc. 5000 ranks U.S.-based private companies by examining percentage revenue growth over the last three years.

Vytalize Health — Hoboken, New Jersey

— Rank: 1

— Growth: 90,779%

— Climbing to the No. 1 spot is Vytalize Health, an accountable care organization (ACO) and value-based care platform that works with physicians and primary care practices. The company touts in-home care as one of its key solutions.

Monogram Health — Brentwood, Tennessee

— Rank: 3

— Growth: 43,848%

— Monogram Health is a value-based specialty provider of in-home care and benefit management services for individuals living with polychronic conditions, including chronic kidney and end-stage kidney disease.

Upward Health — Hauppauge, New York

— Rank: 6

— Growth: 30,722%

— Upward Health is an in-home primary care and behavioral health care company. The company works with health plans to aid its members.

UltraCare Services — Beverly Hills, California

— Rank: 103

— Growth: 3,109%

— UltraCare Services non-medical personal care company that offers care to seniors and disabled veterans.

DSP Connections — Salem, Oregon

— Rank: 172

— Growth: 2,217%

— The company offers in-home support for children and adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

AvevoRx — Greensboro, North Carolina

— Rank: 581

— Growth: 776%

— AvevoRx provides specialty infusion pharmacy services in the home for patients.

Nurturing Angels Home Care — Greenville, Delaware

— Rank: 731

— Growth: 658%

— Nurturing Angels Home Care delivers personal care services to seniors based in Maryland and Delaware.

connectRN — Waltham, Massachusetts

— Rank: 928

— Growth: 545%

— connectRN’s platform helps nurses and other health care professionals find work, particularly in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and in the home health space.

Fortis Home Health and Hospice — Murray, Utah

— Rank: 1,239

— Growth: 417%

— The company is a home health and hospice provider serving Indiana and Utah.

Wellthy — New York, New York

— Rank: 1,284

— Growth: 404%

— Wellthy is an employee caregiver benefit provider. The company helps individuals manage caregiving responsibilities.

TLC HomeCare Services — Carterville, Illinois

— Rank: 1,285

— Growth: 404%

— TLC HomeCare Services is a locally owned home care agency in Southern Illinois. The company offers services such as meal prep, companionship, light housekeeping and more.

Entrusted Pediatric Home Care — Austin, Texas

— Rank: 1,434

— Growth: 358%

— Entrusted Pediatric Home Care is a pediatric home health company that offers care across Texas.

CARESPHERE — Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

— Rank: 1,653

— Growth: 314%

— The company is a home-based care provider that delivers personalized medical and social support statewide.

HealthFlex Hospice — Oakland, California

— Rank: 1,732

— Growth: 302%

— The company provides various in-home health care services, including home health and hospice care.

Honor Technology — San Mateo, California

— Rank: 1,774

— Growth: 296%

— Founded in 2014, Honor is a home care technology company. It owns Home Instead, one of the largest home care franchises in the country.

Daily Dove Care — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

— Rank: 2,076

— Growth: 252%

— The company is a provider of home care in Philadelphia. It offers services such as nursing, personal care, rehabilitation, clinical care and more.

Sprout Therapy Group — Liverpool, New York

— Rank: 2,113

— Growth: 248%

— Sprout Therapy Group delivers home health care, rehab and special education for children.

Elder Care Homecare — Scarsdale, New York

— Rank: 2,207

— Growth: 236%

— The company offers a variety of home-based care services throughout Westchester County, Long Island and New York City.

IntellaTriage — Brentwood, Tennessee

— Rank: 2,367

— Growth: 220%

— IntellaTriage is a provider of after-hours nurse triage solutions for home health and hospice providers.

Traditions Health — Nashville, Tennessee

— Rank: 2,389

— Growth: 218%

— Traditions Health is a home health, hospice and palliative care provider with a footprint that spans across 130 locations and 18 states. It cares for more than 25,000 patients per year.

TLC Skilled Care — North Palm Beach, Florida

— Rank: 2,592

— Growth: 197%

— TLC Skilled Care is a home-based care company that offers respite care, companion care, behavioral health services and more.

Elite Homecare — Spartanburg, South Carolina

— Rank: 2,900

— Growth: 175%

— In addition to home care services, Elite also has day centers and transportation services under the company’s umbrella.

HomeWell Franchising — Burkburnett, Texas

— Rank: 3,620

— Growth: 131%

— HomeWell is a home care franchise company that has locations across the U.S.

WellSprings Home Care Ltd — Downingtown, Pennsylvania

— Rank: 3,691

— Growth: 127%

— WellSprings is focused on delivering high-end luxury care. The company offers live-in care, dementia care and more.

Pediatric Home Service — Roseville, Minnesota

— Rank: 3,838

— Growth: 120%

— Pediatric Home Service is an independent home health care agency that serves children with complex needs.

HHAeXchange — New York, New York

— Rank: 4,060

— Growth: 111%

— HHAeXchange is a home care technology platform and an aggregator of EVV data for payers and providers.

The Perfect Companion — Phoenix, Arizona

— Rank: 4,112

— Growth: 108%

— The Perfect Companion offers concierge home care services for seniors.

BrightStar Care — Gurnee, Illinois

— Rank: 4,308

— Growth: 100%

— Chicagoland-based BrightStar Care offers personal home care as well as supplemental staffing and home health care. It has over 15,000 caregivers and 5,700 registered nurses within its network.

Total Care Connections — Tempe, Arizona

— Rank: 4,852

— Growth: 78%

— Total Care Connections is a provider of home care and private nursing services.

The above list is based on an HHCN review of the Inc. 5000 ranking. If your company was on the Inc. 5000 list and operates in the home-based care space but wasn’t noted above, please reach out to HHCN.

The post 29 Of Home-Based Care’s Fastest-Growing Companies appeared first on Home Health Care News.

HCS-Girling Backs Pinnacle Home Care

HCS-Girling and Pinnacle Home Care announced earlier this month that the two companies have a definitive agreement to enter into a strategic partnership. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The New York-based HCS-Girling provides home health and home care services, and Pinnacle Home Care is one of the largest home health providers in the state of Florida.

“Pinnacle is an important provider in the Florida market, having established a reputation for excellent clinical quality and a very strong corporate culture,” Jeffrey and Agnes Shemia, the co-CEOs of HCS-Girling, said in a statement. “HCS-Girling and Pinnacle both share a unique founding story as clinician-founder-led platforms. We are extremely excited about this partnership and the ability to service patients across geographies, working hand in hand with Shane and the Pinnacle leadership team to provide best-in-class care.”

Together, the two companies will “link the care continuum across two growing markets,” according to the release.

“Pinnacle and Girling are a perfect match with meaningful cultural overlap,” Pinnacle Home Care Founder and CEO Shane Donaldson said in a statement. “Both businesses are founder- (and clinician-) owned and operated and privately held. Both organizations recently celebrated 20 years of service in their respective communities, an important marker in how far both have come in their journeys as health care providers. Pinnacle looks forward to serving our patients, staff and referral partners for the next 20 years.”

HCS-Girling also recently acquired the personal care operations of Addus HomeCare Corp. (Nasdaq: ADUS) in New York.

Pinnacle’s chief sales officer said that the partnership with HCS-Girling will bring the company “considerable balance sheet strength.” The leadership teams will remain the same at each organization.

“We are so proud of our Pinnacle Family and all that we have achieved over the past several years,” Pinnacle President Michael Froning added. “Growth across the Florida home health market has not come without challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as PDGM and RCD. As Pinnacle developed our longer-term strategies, we knew that future growth would require larger capital support, but we actively chose not to follow the path of our competitors to be acquired by a payvider or private equity, or the publicly traded home health providers.”

BrightSpring Health Services acquires Haven Hospice

On Monday, BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Haven Hospice, a Florida-based operator that provides services in North Central Florida.

The deal was worth $60 million, according to BrightSpring, and expands its service capabilities in a Certificate of Need (CON) state.

The company has closed multiple home-based care deals in 2024 already.

“We are excited to welcome Haven Hospice into BrightSpring, bolstering our existing hospice care line of business and expanding our hospice services into the CON state of Florida,” BrightSpring President and CEO Jon Rousseau said in a statement. “The delivery of compassionate hospice care is critical for patients and their families, and we’re committed to delivering that to high-need Floridians. It is extremely difficult to enter the Florida hospice market, and with this recent expansion of services, we can now provide high-quality care to more patients and their families during the most difficult time in their lives.”

In addition to hospice care, the Haven acquisition will also allow BrightSpring to provide advance care planning and palliative care. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

Compassus and OhioHealth enter home health, hospice partnership

The home-based care provider Compassus has formed a partnership with the health system OhioHealth. Specifically, the former will manage the latter’s home health and hospice service lines.

“We’re proud to collaborate with OhioHealth to deliver high-quality, patient-centered home health and hospice care to ensure patients and families have the support they need wherever they call home,” Compassus CEO Mike Asselta said in a statement. “As our teams come together, we’ll continue to focus on patients, partnership and innovation to deliver superior care.”

The Brentwood, Tennessee-based Compassus provides home health care, home infusion, palliative care and hospice care services. Its 7,000 employees provide care across 30 states.

The company also entered into a similar agreement with Bon Secours Mercy Health earlier this year.

As a part of the agreement, Compassus will “manage operations as both organizations work to ensure smooth continuity of care for patients and families.”

The OhioHealth network includes 15 hospitals, more than 200 ambulatory sites and home-based care services that serve patients in 50 counties in Ohio.

Northrim Horizon acquires Noble Hospice and Palliative Care

The private equity firm Northrim Horizon has acquired Noble Hospice and Palliative Care. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal took place through Northrim’s portfolio company ITC, which is a personal care provider, according to Hospice News.

“As long-term business builders, we try to view the world in decades as opposed to three-to-five years, which allows us the luxury to block-out short-term noise in markets,” Jack Lawson, Northrim operating partner and Noble’s new CEO, told Hospice News. “We believe hospice is an enduring segment within the broader home care industry and provides essential services to patients in a cost-effective and preferred setting. We are big believers that the best long-term care meets patients where they are.”

The Arizona-based Noble’s network includes a patient census of about 200.

“Noble has a strong track-record of growth, an experienced clinical and operations team and an enduring, patient-focused model of care that makes for a fantastic entry-point in the industry,” Lawson said. “We believe Noble Hospice has a business model and standard of care that will stand the test of time.”

HHAeXchange acquires Cashé

The New York-based home care technology platform HHAeXchange has acquired Cashé Software, a Minnesota-based home care operations and billing company.

“Today marks an exciting milestone as we join forces with Cashé. In addition to its robust product set, the company shares HHAeXchange’s passion for homecare, technology and innovative software,” HHAeXchange CEO Paul Joiner said in a statement. “Home care agencies need purpose-built technology to support them in delivering quality care. We are thrilled to partner with the Cashé team to collaborate on our vision of delivering the most comprehensive solution that drives operational efficiency, increases compliance, and improves health outcomes.”

Cashé already works with more than 400 home care agencies in Minnesota, according to the press release.

“For 20 years, Cashé has been focused on ensuring our customers can rely on our software to help them deliver the best care in the home,” former Cashé President Praba Manivasager, who will join HHAeXchange’s leadership team, said in a statement. “This commitment is strengthened by our partnership with HHAeXchange, and we look forward to working together as a team to accelerate our vision of building the software platform that sets the standard for efficient workflows and insightful data.”

The post Transactions: HCS-Girling’s Deal With Pinnacle Home Care; BrightSpring Health To Acquire Haven appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Four new executives recently joined Honor’s leadership team.

The new additions to the team include: Linn Free, who was named senior vice president of operations; Stefan Haney, who was named senior vice president of growth technology; Mark Privett, who was named vice president of design; and Tejas Saraiya, who was named vice president of platform sales.

Founded in 2014, Honor is a home care technology company. It owns Home Instead, one of the largest home care franchises in the country.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Linn, Stefan, Mark and Tejas to our executive leadership team,” Honor President Ian Clarkson said in a press statement. “Each are experts in their fields and will strengthen our company to achieve our mission of revolutionizing how society cares for older adults, their families, and care professionals. As we refine our tech solutions and increase their adoption across our Home Instead franchise network, their leadership will be key in enhancing the user experience for our clients, care professionals, and home care network.”

Free will specifically serve as senior vice president of operations for the Home Instead network. He will be responsible for network performance, and will lead franchise development teams. Before joining Honor, Free was the global director of operations for KFC Global.

Haney will be in charge of developing systems for network growth and performance. Most recently, Haney served as the marketplace growth strategy advisor at Vantage International.

As part of his new role, Privett’s focus will be revamping the company’s digital experiences. Privett previously served as vice president of user experience and design at Nerdy.

Saraiya will head up the company’s sales efforts in support of Honor Care platform growth. He serves as the board vice president at Abode Services.

MedPAC’s new executive director

Paul Masi is the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) new executive director.

MedPAC — established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 — informs Congress on Medicare spending and policy.

“Leading the staff at MedPAC is a great honor, and I want to thank Mike Chernew and Amol Navathe, MedPAC’s chair and vice chair, for this opportunity. I also want to thank Jim Mathews for his long service to MedPAC,” Masi said in a statement.

Masi succeeds Mathews, who has served in the executive director role at MedPAC since 2017.

“Leading the commission through these last several years has required Jim to navigate unprecedented challenges,” Masi said. “During that time, the commission continued to be an outstanding source of analysis and advice, and it thrived in fulfilling its mission.”

Masi recently managed the Medicare cost estimates unit at the Congressional Budget Office. From 2017 through 2019, he served as the assistant director at MedPAC.

CVS Health names new health care division leader

CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has appointed Shawn Guertin president of its health services division.

“The health services strategy is really about accomplishing two objectives,” Guertin said last week during Morgan Stanley’s 21st Global Healthcare Conference. “One is to create more accretive earnings growth from year to year. But also, over time, to fundamentally change the growth rates inherent in this company as we build a new business that has more attractive long-term growth characteristics than the enterprise. That’s the big challenge, financially.”

Guertin also serves as the company’s CFO.

“We always were going to have to have someone lead our health services division,” CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch also said. “I’m very excited that Shawn will be taking over the leadership role, which means Oak Street and Signify will report to Shawn, and he will be responsible for unlocking the long-term value, the revenue and earnings power of those businesses.”

In March, CVS Health acquired Signify Health for $8 billion. At the start of the year, CVS Health purchased Oak Street Health for $10.6 billion.

Advocate Health appoints senior vice president of continuing health

Advocate Health has named Denise Keefe senior vice president of continuing health.

Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the U.S. The health system was created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health.

Keefe has been at the company for 30 years. Most recently, she served as executive vice president of Advocate Aurora Health and president of the Advocate Aurora continuing health division.

HCR Home Care branch names director of patient services

Vincent Tata was appointed director of patient services for HCR Home Care’s Finger Lakes location.

In his new position, Tata will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day clinical operations and all patient care for the agency. He recently served as senior manager of clinical operations at UR Medicine Home Care.

Founded in 1978, HCR Home Care is a provider of home health services across New York state. The company’s service lines include nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy, speech therapy and more.

HHAeXchange announces new chief technology officer

HHAeXchange has named Tim Brewer as the company’s chief technology officer.

“As we look to our next phase of growth, I’m honored to welcome Tim to the team, and work with him to enhance our suite of solutions and services to connect and support the entire homecare ecosystem,” HHAeXchange CEO Paul Joiner said in a press release. “Ensuring that our technology is meeting the needs of today’s home care providers and payers is our top priority at HHAeXchange, and with Tim’s expertise, we will collectively see to it that our customers have access to the best software possible.”

HHAeXchange is a New York City-based home care technology platform and an aggregator of EVV data for payers and providers.

Brewer brings more than 30 years of experience to the role. He recently served as principal at Unleash Innovations.

“I’m excited to join HHAeXchange at such a pivotal moment for the company, where we are continually improving and innovating our trusted solutions to ensure that we are developing the best tools and technology that meet the unique needs of all homecare stakeholders today and for the future,” Brewer said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with the team and building a better home care ecosystem through technology advancements.”

The post Honor Expands Its Executive Leadership Team; New Executive Director Joins MedPAC appeared first on Home Health Care News.

The Chicago-based personal home care company Help at Home has named Lisa George as its new chief human resources officer.

George has previously served in human resources leadership roles at Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Campbell’s Soup (NYSE: CPB). Most recently, she was the chief human resources officer at Shearer’s Foods.

“I found that the people in this organization were all really committed to that mission of making a difference, so that was incredibly compelling,” George told Home Health Care News. “I also think we are in a unique situation, particularly with the growth that we’ve had over the last 18 months. We want to be that true destination where people really want to come to work and make a difference.”

Help at Home has more than 190 locations across 12 states and employs nearly 50,000 caregivers. The company’s revenue is mostly from government payers like Medicaid, which is different from many of the bigger home care companies that rely primarily on private-pay clients.

The company recently entered into New York with two major acquisitions that added over 10,000 new clients and 12,000 caregivers to its portfolio.

“In the HR arena, we want to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to enable the business strategy,” George said. “That means looking at people, processes, technology, policies, systems, and making sure that everybody is able to work together with a very collaborative mindset, with also a focus on performance and business outcomes.”

On top of striving for being the go-to place for caregivers, George wants to “professionalize” the caregiver occupation at Help at Home, and also offer meaningful career paths for all of its workers.

“We really want to continue to professionalize and upskill that role, because they’re the ones in the home making the difference every day,” she said. “We’re going to really make sure that we invest in that and provide a working environment that the caregivers are going to value, that allows them to do their best work and pursue that as a longer-term career.”

InnovAge names new chief medical officer

InnovAge (Nasdaq: INNV) has named Dr. Richard Feifer the company’s chief medical officer.

“There is nothing more important than ensuring we are consistently delivering outstanding care for our participants,” Patrick Blair, president and CEO of InnovAge, said in a press statement. “As a physician executive with a breadth of experience and proven leadership in post-acute care and physician practice management, clinical operations, value-based payment models and managed care, Rich is a valuable addition to our executive leadership team.”

A Denver-based Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provider, InnovAge is one of the largest organizations of its type. The company has roughly 1,800 employees and serves seniors in Colorado, New Mexico, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In his role as CMO, Feifer will be responsible for InnovAge’s clinical care delivery, including medical care, quality, pharmacy, dental, and behavioral health.

“I’m passionate about finding better ways to deliver efficient, high-quality care,” Feifer said in a statement. “My professional mission aligns perfectly with InnovAge and I’m very excited to apply my experience to support the company in fulfilling its critical objectives. PACE provides a much-needed solution to the many challenges of efficiently caring for a medically complex and often underserved population and does so by aligning with what participants and families truly desire and value – aging in their own homes and communities.”

Prior to joining InnovAge as CMO, Feifer served in various leadership roles at Genesis HealthCare. His most recent role at the company was executive vice president and CMO. He was in charge of overseeing one of the largest skilled nursing and long-term care providers, operating almost 400 facilities in 26 states.

Empath Health beefs up legal team

Christy Hendricks has joined Empath Health as its general counsel and chief mission legal officer.

“We look forward to partnering with Christy on many projects including regulatory matters, corporate support services, clinical service line support and plans for future growth,” Jonathan Fleece, president of Empath Health, said in a press statement. “She will help us shape Empath Health’s future.”

Empath Health is the country’s largest not-for-profit health system. The organization’s network includes hospice, home health, palliative care, grief services, all-inclusive elder care, primary care, physician services and more.

In her new role, Hendricks will oversee the company’s legal, compliance, public policy and legislative affairs teams.

Before her appointment, Hendricks was chief legal officer at OU Medicine, the academic medical system affiliated with the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. During her time there, she set up the first law department and was key legal advisor on the system’s clinical integration with the College of Medicine’s physician practice group and clinics.

“Christy brings extensive expertise gained working for large non-profit healthcare systems like ours,” Empath Health CEO Rafael J. Sciullo said in a statement. “She also has a deep understanding of Empath’s mission for serving our communities with full life care for all.”

HHAeXchange expands leadership team

The New York City-based HHAeXchange – a home care technology platform – has announced three hires to expand its leadership team.

James Stanton has been named chief financial officer, Todd Bransford has been named chief product officer and Nicholas Fahrney has been named chief security and compliance officer.

On Stanton’s end, he comes in with experience working for a private equity-owned SaaS business – Diligent Corporation – where he worked for 12 years. Bransford also comes in with SaaS experience, having previously worked for Solera. He also has worked at WellSky, a post-acute technology company. Finally, Fahrney has worked in cybersecurity for more than 18 years.

“The combined leadership and expertise of Bransford, Stanton, and Fahrney reaffirm HHAeXchange’s dedication to revolutionizing homecare technology and ensuring patient safety and operational compliance,” HHAeXchange CEO Greg Strobel said in a press release. “We are thrilled to welcome these executives to the team as we continue to build the most comprehensive and connected homecare platform in the market.”

The post Help at Home Appoints Chief Human Resources Officer; InnovAge Lands New CMO appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Like any regulations that home-based care agencies have been subjected to of late, it’s been hard for some providers to adjust and easier for others.

Broadly, EVV applies to Medicaid-reimbursed home care providers. It requires them to electronically verify the services they deliver. The caregivers are responsible for recording data points, such as date, time, location, type of service and other information.

Not many states met the original deadline for the EVV mandate, which was in 2020. Most received exemptions, giving them extra implementation time.

That has led to a drawn-out process of providers being introduced to the new requirement.

“Some states are moving more quickly than others, but the good-faith effort for most states is well underway,” HHAeXchange CEO Greg Strobel told Home Health Care News. “It’s been a steady trajectory of more and more states engaging towards EVV compliance. … But we believe 2022 is going to be a very active year for additional procurement, selection and implementation.”

New York City-based HHAeXchange is a home care technology platform and an aggregator of EVV data for payers and providers. The company most recently announced that it had received Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) certification to be New Jersey’s state aggregator of EVV services.

States can choose one of the following paths for EVV:

– Either a state-sponsored vendor or a provider’s own choice

– A state-mandated vendor

– A state-operated system

– Full provider choice

– Managed care organization (MCO) choice, where MCOs select the vendor and cover most costs

“We had a lot of integration work to do and a lot of testing work to do, so we’re thrilled that [New Jersey] got CMS certification all the way back to the implementation date,” Strobel said. “So they’ll receive federal matching funds, no penalties and all the other stuff that you hope to achieve for a state.”

Overall, the company’s goal is to help aid providers, states and the federal government in their effort to streamline verification of home care services.

For providers, the implementation process likely looks different based on the size and resources of an organization, plus what state they operate in.

“I think this industry, like many others, is maturing rapidly. And whenever there’s industries that are maturing rapidly and onboarding technology requirements, there’s always going to be some segment of that industry that’s going to consolidate,” Strobel said. “Certainly, at the very small end, there’s providers that just opt to become part of larger organizations rather than onboard.”

Addus HomeCare Corporation (Nasdaq: ADUS), a large provider of Medicaid-based home care services, substantiated that notion last February on an earnings call.

“We are also seeing more states moving into EVV,” Addus CFO and Executive VP Brian Poff said. “A lot of the states are starting that transition process, which I think is making business for some of those smaller providers a little more difficult — and a little more likely to be attractive for us.”

EVV implementation, though, is a necessary step in the right direction, Strobel said. The home-based care industry is becoming more technologically savvy and getting more attention on the national scale, moving it forward overall.

“There’s a lot of disruption in this industry right now,” Strobel said. “But it’s more of a function of just evolving technology and compliance more than it is anyone trying to weed anybody out.”

The process should also theoretically make the jobs of caregivers easier, giving them simple technology to utilize to log data and meet compliance.

The post EVV Likely to Trigger More Home Care Consolidation appeared first on Home Health Care News.

LHC Group purchases Virginia providers

The LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) M&A run continues.

The Lafayette, Louisiana-based company recently announced agreements to acquire Generations Home Health along with Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care, both in Virginia Beach, Virginia. LHC Group expects $7 million in annual revenue from the deals.

Plus, the purchases complement and expand on the company’s existing footprint in the state. It also falls in line with LHC Group’s co-location strategy to offer a variety of home-based care services in specific markets.

“LHC Group looks forward to welcoming our new team members from Virginia as we join forces to reach even more patients and families in the Virginia Beach region,” LHC Group Chairman and CEO Keith Myers said in a statement. “With our combined expertise and the great reputation these providers have earned, we will help ensure more access to quality, in-home service in the patient’s preferred setting — their home.”

As a business, LHC Group delivers home health, hospice, home- and community-based services, and facility-based care in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The company reaches 60% of the U.S. population aged 65 and older.

Under the agreement, the acquired providers will continue operating under their current names.

The deal is slated to close on Oct. 1.

Senior Helpers acquires Miller Home Care

Senior Helpers has purchased Miller Home Care LLC, a Milwaukee-based in-home care provider. Miller Home Care was formerly owned by James and Felicia Miller.

Maryland-based Senior Helpers has a national network of more than 300 franchise locations. The company is owned by Advocate Aurora Enterprises, a subsidiary of Advocate Aurora Health.

The deal for Miller Home Care will enable Senior Helpers to set up a new corporate store in Milwaukee. The corporate location will serve as a place to conduct staff training, incubate new programs and develop new service offerings before implementation across the company’s larger network, according to a press release announcing the news.

“On the heels of Senior Helpers’ acquisition by Advocate Aurora Enterprises in April, this strategic investment expands our corporate store footprint in the Greater Milwaukee area and joins our existing corporate store in Des Plaines, Illinois,” Senior Helpers CEO Peter Ross said in the release. “This critical move allows us to collectively work together in an established Advocate Aurora Heath market to further enable our growth strategy while creating a model for us to collectively coordinate care across the full continuum.”

Intermountain Healthcare to merge with SCL Health

Intermountain Healthcare and SCL Health, two nonprofit health care organizations, have signed a letter of intent to merge.

“We’re excited to merge with SCL Health to usher in a new frontier for the health of communities throughout the Intermountain West and beyond,” Dr. Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain, said in a statement. “American health care needs to accelerate the evolution toward population health and value, and this merger will swiftly advance that cause across a broader geography.”

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Intermountain is one of the largest health systems in the country and among the most bullish on home-based care. The system has 42,000 employees who work across 25 hospitals and 225 clinics, plus an in-house insurance division.

Broomfield, Colorado-based SCL Health is a health care system that consists of eight hospitals and 160 physician clinics. It has 16,000 employees.

Once the deal is completed, the combined system will employ more than 58,000 caregivers and operate 33 hospitals. The health system will run 385 clinics across six states and provide health insurance to about 1 million people.

The combined system will be headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a regional office in Broomfield.

Intermountain’s Harrison will serve as the president and CEO of the merged organization. Lydia Jumonville, CEO of SCL Health, will remain in her current role, serving as a board member on a new combined board to ensure the integration of the two systems.

Over the years, home-based care has been a major priority for Intermountain. Last year, the organization expanded its Intermountain at Home program.

Before that, Intermountain had partnered with Lifesprk — a Minnesota-based in-home care provider — for the launch of Homespire, a holistic home care joint venture in Utah.

Additionally, Intermountain rolled out a hospital-level in-home care partnership with Castell, a health IT platform, in 2020.

HHAeXchange secures investment from Hg

HHAeXchange, a technology platform for home care program management, has locked down a new investment from Hg, a global investor in software and services.

Cressey & Company LP, a health care-focused private investment firm, will also remain an investor. The terms of the investment have not been disclosed.

“We are proud to welcome Hg to the team for this next chapter of HHAeXchange’s continued success,” Greg Strobel, CEO of HHAeXchange, said in a statement. “With Hg’s track record of growing technology businesses and Cressey’s specialist background in the health care space, HHAeXchange is incredibly well-positioned to enhance our solution suite and expand our reach to meet the growing demand for home and community-based services.”

HHAeXchange’s platform aims to help improve patient outcomes, operational efficiency and increase compliance. The company’s platform facilitates more than 125 million annual visits for 650,000 caregivers across more than 44 states.

ClearCare rebrands under WellSky

WellSky announced that ClearCare, a technology platform for non-medical home-based care, has rebranded to WellSky Personal Care.

“As we continue to see more care delivered in the home, it’s our responsibility to support our clients with world-class solutions and unparalleled partnership to bolster their growth,” Bill Miller, CEO of WellSky, said in a statement. “The name change to WellSky Personal Care reflects how integral personal care is to our overall mission of intelligent, coordinated care delivery and the impact these solutions will have to help lower the overall cost of care, reduce hospital admissions, and achieve sustained growth for our clients.”

WellSky is an international software and professional services company with clients that include home health providers, hospital systems, blood banks, labs, hospices, government agencies and human services organizations. The company serves more than 20,000 clients.

WellSky originally purchased San Francisco-based ClearCare in 2019. ClearCare’s platform provides caregiver scheduling, billing and other software solutions.

The post Transactions: LHC Group Expands Footprint; Senior Helpers Acquires New Corporate Store appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Boston-based Current Health, a company that offers a remote care management platform to help health care providers conduct home-based care, has joined the Moving Health Home (MHH) coalition.

MHH was created in March to influence lawmakers and advocate for legislation favorable to all sorts of home-based care. Its member organizations are from a diverse set of home-based care backgrounds. They include Amazon Care (Nasdaq: AMZN), Intermountain Healthcare, Amwell (NYSE: AMWL), Home Instead Senior Care and more.

“We must learn from the lessons of COVID-19 to shape the future of health care,” Krista Drobac, the founder of MHH, said in a statement. “The pandemic taught us that care in the home is not only possible, but extremely valuable when it comes to delivering more accessible, holistic and preventive care. Current Health’s first-hand experience enabling care in the home will be beneficial as we design and champion a new paradigm for care delivery.”

Based in Washington, D.C, MHH now has 26 member organizations, according to a coalition spokesperson.

Other companies that are a part of the coalition include Landmark Health, Signify Health (NYSE: SGFY), DispatchHealth and Elara Caring.

On its end, Current Health has generated significant momentum over the last year, especially as hospitals attempt to provide hospital-level care in the home through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) “Acute Hospital Care at Home” waiver.

Most recently, the company was selected by UMass Memorial Health to help spearhead its new hospital-at-home program.

FirstLight Home Care joins Dina’s Network

FirstLight Home Care has joined Dina’s digital home care coordination network.

The Cincinnati-based home care provider, which has more than 200 locations across the country, is partnering with Dina in order to enhance coordination with its hospital and health plan partners.

On Dina’s end, its clients include home health care and non-medical home care providers. Its AI-powered care-at-home platform helps agencies engage with patients more directly and unlock “timely home-based insights” that can increase a senior’s “healthy days at home,” according to the company.

“Dina helps us position ourselves to partner with payers in the new world of expanded home-based care,” Kerri Pendley, VP of strategy at FirstLight Home Care, said in a statement. “The tools allow us to facilitate seamless referrals and integration of our home care services. Once activated, we can use outcome-based data to advocate on behalf of our clients for expanded services where needed.”

The partnership will be particularly beneficial to FirstLight, as its Medicare Advantage (MA) strategy has become an important part of its business initiatives over the last couple of years.

Minnesota selects HHAeXchange for EVV

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has chosen HHAeXchange — a provider of home care management solutions for payers and agencies — as its state-provided electronic visit verification (EVV) system.

The 21st Century Cures Act, which became law in 2016, came with an EVV mandate for all states. Thus, there are different EVV requirements for home-based care providers in different states.

The goal of the Cures Act was to decrease frause, waste and abuse within the home health industry.

“We are proud to have been chosen by the State of Minnesota to aggregate EVV data on its behalf,”HHAeXchange CEO Greg Strobel said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to providing a seamless offering for home care and self-direction providers that will help meet Minnesota’s goal of ensuring all people and communities can achieve optimal physical, mental and social well-being with access to quality care.”

The contract was officially awarded to the New York-based HHAeXchange in late May.

Minnesota is utilizing a hybrid EVV set-up, meaning that HHAeXchange will be consolidating all visit data, no matter which specific EVV tools are being used on the front end. Its platform will be used by around 112,000 workers serving over 80,000 patients, according to the company.

Axxess forms strategic partnership with Forcura

Dallas-based Axxess, a home health technology company, announced Monday that it had formed a strategic partnership with Jacksonville, Florida-based Forcura.

Forcura — also a frequent home-based care company partner — is a health care technology company that specifically helps enhance agencies’ electronic health record (EHR) technology. Its platform combines workflow and collaboration tools, third-party engagement capabilities and analytics to support providers across the continuum.

Thanks to the partnership, Axxess EHR clients will be able to process referrals and onboard patients up to 50% faster, according to a press release.

“Technology integrations like this partnership with Forcura are the key to transforming the delivery of care in the home,” John Olajide, founder and CEO of Axxess, said in a statement. “This enhanced experience will empower our clients to provide the best patient care, while lowering their administrative expenses and optimizing their revenue cycles.”

The post Current Health Joins Moving Health Home Coalition; FirstLight Partners with Dina appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Last year, many states created even more Medicaid flexibilities to allow seniors to essentially hire their own family members as their caregivers, which was especially helpful amid stay-at-home orders and fears surrounding COVID-19.

On their end, states see this strategy as a win-win. Patients can be cared for in their own homes without exposing themselves to the virus, and more caregivers can be paid and effectively join a workforce that is always in need of more soldiers.

That’s why New York City-based home care technology platform HHAeXchange acquired Annkissam last October. Annkissam — now a subsidiary of HHAeXchange — is a provider of software that supports self-direction programs.

Acquiring Annkissam enabled HHAeXchange to embed the company’s capabilities into its network and hit the ground running.

“Some of the foundational technical elements and requirements in that space are just different than the home care agency, employed-caregiver model,” Greg Strobel, the CEO of HHAeXchange, told Home Health Care News. “I think about 44 states now are serving financial management services programs that are coordinating either at the community level or at the county level for self-directed programs.”

Founded in 2008, HHAeXchange is a technology platform for home care and self-direction program management. The platform is developed specifically for the Medicaid patient population, with the HHAeXchange platform connecting state agencies, managed care payers, providers and caregivers.

COVID-19 has been an accelerator for HHAeXchange’s business. Self-directing programs were an area of the home care business where it expected more growth. The acquisition of Annkissam gave HHAeXchange even greater insights into the trend.

Overall, there was a 20% growth in self-direction for the first nine months of 2020, data from Annkissam’s software shows. That is an increase of 7.5% compared to prior years.

“We felt that with the tightening of the caregiver employment pool, that there would just be a natural growth in this particular industry — and not only from the perspective of just the necessity of hiring friends and family members,” Strobel said. “But also the desire of individuals to move into that kind of arrangement. The advent of the COVID pandemic confirmed for us that more participants at least considered self-direction when making their choices in 2020, for all the obvious reasons that we know.”

HHAeXchange expects that self-directed programs will continue to grow and that their success will beget more growth down the line.

Self-directed programs differ from market-to-market. But in New York, for instance, there are even some home care agencies that act as normal providers but also facilitators of these programs. These entities are often referred to as fiscal intermediaries (FIs).

“You’ll have agencies that are operating both as traditional employed caregiver agencies, as well as a financial management services organization,” Strobel said. “And so they’re operating kind of both models.”

The momentum of self-directed — or consumer-directed — models is a change from 2019 when such programs faced budgetary constraints. FIs in New York, for example, had to navigate through harsh regulatory changes and agency closures two years ago.

“My understanding is that one agency has sent in notice to the department of health that they intend to close,” Bryan O’Malley, executive director of the Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State (CDPAANYS), previously told HHCN. “I know a number have the paperwork filled out and ready to go.”

Additionally, not all home-based care stakeholders have been pleased to see growth in self-directed and consumer-directed models. Some home care professionals believe certain states overuse such programs when they should instead be balancing reimbursement with traditional providers.

Others argue that consumer-directed programs are too susceptible to fraud, waste and abuse.

“The matter of self-directed care is a complicated one involving a broad array of well-intentioned constituents,” one home care veteran told HHCN in 2019. “As it’s currently set up, though, I think it’s a bigger threat to home care agencies than most people realize, just because of the siphoning of resources.”

The post Use of Self-Directed Home Care Services Jumped 20% in 2020 appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Over the past two few months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the White House have taken numerous steps to ramp up the use of telehealth services during the COVID-19 emergency. In doing so, federal policymakers hoped to minimize person-to-person contact and preserve stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We dramatically expanded access to telehealth … for Medicare beneficiaries,” President Donald Trump said during a late April White House coronavirus task-force briefing. “The number of Medicare patients using telehealth has increased from roughly 11,000 a week to more than 650,000 [people] a week.”

But while certain health care practitioners and providers have been granted newfound telehealth flexibility under Medicare, home health agencies have largely been left to fend for themselves.

Currently, there isn’t a way for home health providers to bill for in-home telehealth visits — or count remote visits toward low-utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) thresholds.

In other words: The coronavirus might have led to a quantum leap for telehealth broadly, but not for the nation’s in-home care providers, many of which have transitioned to the front lines of the outbreak.

As a result of the coronavirus, the demand for telehealth technology is projected to increase seven-fold by 2025, according to research from business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan research.

“This is an opportunity we don’t want to miss,” National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi said during a May 15 virtual town hall hosted by Home Health Care News.

Home health providers originally weren’t supposed to be left out of the sudden telehealth boom.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress with overwhelming, bipartisan support and signed into law by President Trump on March 27. Leading up to that date, many felt confident that legislation would create a pathway for direct home health telehealth reimbursement.

On its end, NAHC’s policy team participated in multiple early-morning discussions in an effort to secure reimbursement for telehealth services under the home health benefit while also making sure telehealth could be provided under the hospice program.

“We thought everything was safe,” Dombi said. “We were still where we needed to be in the game to get reimbursement under the home health benefit and authorization under the hospice program.”

Right before the CARES Act was signed into law, however, its legislative language shifted. Instead of directly creating that reimbursement pathway, it merely instructed CMS to “encourage” the use of telehealth.

Yet CMS says it cannot unilaterally create a mechanism for home health telehealth reimbursement without congressional action.

NAHC leaders and other industry advocates are now hoping for another shot on Capitol Hill.

“We’re back at it,” Dombi said. “And we’re hoping to see [this] week, early, legislation introduced that would allow for payment of telehealth to home health agencies in one of two ways, if not both ways.”

The first of those two ways is through the home health benefit itself, he clarified. The second option is to put home health agencies and hospices in the same position as physicians, therapists and nurse practitioners (NPs) by allowing them to separately bill Medicare Part B for telehealth services furnished.

“I think we’re getting closer to making it happen,” Dombi said.

Moorestown, New Jersey-based Bayada Home Health Care is among the providers pushing for more telehealth flexibility, according to David Totaro, its chief government affairs officer. Totaro also participated in the May 15 virtual town hall, in addition to Stephen Vacarro, president of provider solutions for HHAeXchange, a home care technology partner.

At the very least, Bayada officials believe telehealth visits should count toward LUPAs, Totaro, who also serves as chairman for the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care (PMHC), said.

While Dombi was optimistic about home health telehealth support coming soon, Totaro was more measured.

“Given today’s environment, it’s probably not at all certain whether this is going to be feasible,” he said during the town hall.

Traditional, fee-for-service Medicare hasn’t presented an opportunity for home health telehealth reimbursement, but providers can still find some payment opportunity under Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicaid.

“Don’t ignore that many of the Medicare Advantage plans are now recognizing and paying for telehealth services as well as state Medicaid programs,” Dombi said. “If your state Medicaid program isn’t paying for it, roll up your sleeves and do some lobbying.”

HHAeXchange clients have conducted roughly 5,000 remote nursing assessments in the Medicaid space, Vacarro said.

If the reimbursement circumstances are right, Medicaid-reimbursed in-home care providers may be quick to turn to telehealth and other technology tools in order to help cut costs on expensive PPE, he noted.

“They just don’t have the financial ability to go out and purchase PPE,” Vacarro said. “They need other tools they can leverage to protect their caregivers during this critical time.”

The post Home Health Industry ‘Getting Closer’ to Reimbursement for Telehealth Visits appeared first on Home Health Care News.