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

The home health, home care and hospice industries are barely exhibiting signs of life when it comes to M&A, sans a few active companies. Transactions were again historically low in the first quarter. Overall, only 12 total home-based care deals have been reported from the first quarter, according to data provided by the M&A firm Mertz Taggart. Cory Mertz, managing partner at Mertz Taggart, told Home Health Care News that this is not due to decreased demand in the space, however. From a macro perspective, interest rates and geopolitical conflict have inhibited dealmaking. From a micro p ..read more

Traditions Health taps new VP of operations The large home health and hospice provider Traditions Health has named Angela Collins as the vice president of operations.  In her role, she will specifically be responsible for home health branches in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. She will also take part in – and oversee – growth initiatives. “Angie’s collaborative efforts have significantly contributed to increasing operational efficiency,” Traditions Health COO Tony Maxwell said in a statement. “Her dedication to continuous improvement and her ability to inspire her team have been pivotal in dr ..read more

This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership Transaction volume for home health, home care and other in-home care businesses dipped in 2023, with inflation, higher interest rates and global unrest contributing to the downturn. Many home-based care stakeholders anticipated M&A to rebound in 2024, however, thanks to increased loan activity in January, greater buyer-seller consensus and private equity’s record-high levels of “mature” dry powder. With 2024’s first quarter in the rear-view mirror, the home-based care dealmaking outlook still looks to be a bit of a question mark. “Things ca ..read more

Elara Caring has teamed up with the digital health company Constant Therapy Health. The partnership will enable Elara Caring to deliver AI-driven speech-language and cognitive therapy across multiple markets. “[The partnership] very much honors our values of exceptional service, innovation and results,” Thomas Southern, administrator of skilled home health at Elara Caring, told Home Health Care News. “To be able to partner with a company like Constant Therapy Health allows us to deliver a very dynamic solution to the patients we serve. It’s an innovative approach that allows us to lean into th ..read more