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 care and a 23% year-over-year jump in higher-acuity care admissions. Hospice admissions and revenue, meanwhile, dipped slightly year over year. Overall, the company brought in $571.4 million in the quarter, a 2.7% increase compared t ..read more

Home-based care stakeholders are navigating a very different environment than they were in the past. No one understands that better than prolific acquirers like HouseWorks, PurposeCare and Care Advantage. All three companies are doing unique things to maintain growth in 2024, however. Firstly, over the last few years, there has been a vast chasm between buyers and sellers. That gap may be beginning to close, however. “That gap between expectation, and what buyers are willing to pay, has closed considerably,” Cameron Cordts, corporate development manager at PurposeCare, said during a panel disc ..read more

Both home health care and Medicare Advantage (MA) are currently in rough rate environments. But Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) leaders believe in the company’s ability to continue growing MA membership with solid margins, partly by leaning into CenterWell Home Health and its other provider assets. Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized what MA plans considered to be an underwhelming – though unsurprising – payment rule for 2025. “I [want to] further emphasize that we continue to believe there is strong bipartisan support for the MA program, and that the s ..read more

This article is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, (HCHB). In this Voices interview, Home Health Care News sits down with Lynn Carroll, VP Product Management – EHR, Homecare Homebase, to talk about the roots of HCHB in the home-based care industry, and its continued collaboration and partnership with providers as they develop new tools, service lines and features. She also explores the numerous ways HCHB incorporates provider input into its product development, and how her previous experience helps bridge the gap between technology and care. What life and career experiences do you most draw from ..read more

BrightStar Care has built a reputation as one of the home care industry’s innovators. Past examples of the home care franchise company’s pioneering spirit include its investment in small-home senior living residences and its educational partnership with Chamberlain University. On Tuesday, the Gurnee, Illinois-based BrightStar announced its latest innovation effort, which will include an expansion of its clinical capabilities. To broaden its services and become a bigger part of the in-home higher-acuity care ecosystem, BrightStar – in collaboration with Medically Home – will now provide primary ..read more

This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership On Tuesday, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials vehemently backed the thought process behind the “80-20” wage mandate in home- and community-based services (HCBS). Providers and advocates, on the other hand, continued to argue that the policy could be disastrous. During a press call Tuesday, CMS stuck with the theme that, in general, the status quo in Medicaid needed to be disrupted. “[These rules] will change for the better how tens of millions of Americans receive care,” Daniel Tsai, the deputy administrator and direc ..read more

The White House teased the finalized Medicaid Access Rule early Monday, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) later revealed more intricate details attached to the rule. Firstly, the timeline of the rule is now clear. Specifically: – In three years, states must “report on their readiness to collect data regarding the percentage of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide, personal care and habilitation services spent on compensation to the direct care workers furnishing these services.” – In four years, states must “report on the percentage of Medicaid payments fo ..read more

The White House on Monday announced that the nursing home minimum-staffing rule has been finalized. Effectively, the rule requires all nursing homes that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding to maintain a certain staffing threshold at all times. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) first proposed the minimum-staffing requirement last fall. “Medicare and Medicaid pay billions of dollars per year to ensure that 1.2 million Americans that receive care in nursing homes are cared for, yet too many nursing homes chronically understaff their facilities, leading to sub-standard ..read more

The “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” rule has been finalized. Most importantly, the bemoaned “80-20” provision has gone through as proposed, meaning providers will eventually be forced to direct 80% of reimbursement for home- and community-based services (HCBS) to caregiver wages.  First proposed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in April 2023, the goal of the rule is to enhance access to HCBS for Medicaid beneficiaries. Allocating 80% of reimbursement for wages would help ensure better access, CMS believes, by raising wages for direct care workers.  ..read more

This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership Every year, home health providers await the release of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed payment rule. While home health providers are likely months away from seeing a proposal, it’s worth examining if what’s happening in other care settings could offer a clue of what to expect. CMS released the 2025 proposed payment rules for hospice and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in March. On the hospice side, the proposed rule included a 2.6% increase in the per diem base rate. Aside from the pay raise for hospices ..read more