The HHVBP Newsletter provides home health agencies (HHAs) with the latest information about the expanded HHVBP Model as well as important tools, news, and timely insights from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the HHVBP Model Technical Assistance (TA) Team. Please consider sharing this newsletter within your organization. Information in this edition...Read More

NOW AVAILABLE IN iQIES – Preview Reports and Star Rating Preview Reports for the April 2022 Refresh For this refresh, Home Health (HH) Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) measure scores are based on the standard number of quarters. The April 2022 refresh will add new OASIS-based measures for public reporting in alignment with the Improving...Read More

Swingtech sends informational messages to hospices related to the Quality Reporting Program (QRP) on a quarterly basis. Their latest outreach communication can be found on the HQRP Requirements and Best Practices webpage. If you want to receive Swingtech’s quarterly emails, then add or update the email addresses to which these messages are sent by sending an...Read More

During this critical time, Home Health Care News remains committed to bringing you all the essential news related to home-based care operations. At the same time, we also recognize the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our regular content, we’ll continue to highlight industry-related developments and mitigation strategies in this rolling bulletin. What...Read More

By Joyce Famakinwa | February 13, 2020 In an effort to address the growing demand for home care services and worsening labor crunch, one U.S. lawmaker has introduced a bill that could help providers raise wages for their caregivers. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced S. 3277 — the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Infrastructure Improvement Act — into...Read More

The home health industry is just a few short months away from the biggest reimbursement overhaul it’s seen in nearly two decades: Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). As the new model’s Jan. 1, 2020 implementation nears, providers nationwide are preparing to navigate its complex changes. That’s especially true when it comes to therapy utilization, which will...Read More

Earlier this year, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) made waves when it rolled out new software that makes its Alexa device HIPAA-compliant.  The new skills kit allows select patients and health care organizations to securely transmit sensitive medical information — often from the comfort of one’s own home. While the implications of the skills have the home-based care...Read More

If you operate a home health agency, Laura Long and her colleagues are probably the last people you want to hear from.  Long is the Medicare operations lead at AdvanceMed, one of five unified program integrity contractors (UPICs) nationwide hired by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to audit and investigation home health...Read More

The long-standing moratoria on new Medicare home health agencies is no longer in effect anywhere in the U.S. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed the temporary ban to expire on Jan. 30, a move that will likely improve patient access to home-based care in related markets, experts say. CMS initially implemented a...Read More

Rural hospitals close when they don’t have enough paying patients to care for, but they’re also dinged when the same patients show up over and over again. That puts outlying medical facilities in the precarious position of needing to avoid repeat customers. Charlotte Potts is the type of patient some hospitals try to avoid. She...Read More