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Congress Passes Short-Term Funding Bill Extending DSH Payments to March 8
Fierce Healthcare | By Dave Muoio
Both chambers of Congress voted Thursday to pass a bill Thursday that punts a partial government shutdown, set to go into effect this weekend, back to early March. The Senate voted 77-18 in favor of the stopgap Thursday afternoon, and was shortly followed by 314-108 vote in the House.
President Joe Biden had previously signaled that he would quickly sign an extension hashed out by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) last weekend before the 12:00 a.m., Saturday morning deadline.
The legislation is intended to give lawmakers more time to consider a collection of separate spending bills that would fund the government through the remainder of its fiscal year (Oct. 1). Disagreements between the major parties on key issues like the Ukraine war and border control, as well as inter-party fighting among Republicans, make this the third such spending extension of the current fiscal year.
From a healthcare perspective, the bill again pushes back a scheduled $8 billion-per-year cut to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital program payments. It also temporarily renews funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps and teaching health centers operating Graduate Medical Education programs. Each of the above will now be funded up to March 8.
More controversial healthcare items in lobbyists’ crosshairs, such as implementation site-neutral Medicare payments or a physician Medicare payment rate cut that went into effect Jan. 1, are not addressed in the stopgap. |
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Discussion Re: the Expansion of Signature Authority for Death Certificates
The Nurse-Physician Advisory Task Force for Colorado Healthcare (NPATCH) is a healthcare policy task force that is housed in the Division of Professions and Occupations at the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).
NPATCH is exploring the possibility of recommending the ability to certify a person’s death from physicians and coroners, to include advanced practice nurses (e.g., NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), and has invited hospice and home health providers to be a part of the conversation.
Please consider joining their next meeting on February 2nd at 1:00 PM, where they will be discussing the topic at length.
Join via Zoom
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jsIpJvIMSM2oVsCrp3Vjbw#/registration
Feel free to distribute the link to anyone you think may be able to contribute to the conversation. |
Survey Shows 2024 to be a "Year of Efficiency" for Care at Home Organizations
Axxess
Process Improvement, Employee Management Seen as Keys to Success
DALLAS, January 15, 2024 – To improve their bottom line and operations, care at home organizations plan to focus on shoring up operational processes and how they manage staffing and scheduling, according to the just-released 2024 Industry Trends Report. The survey and report were commissioned by Axxess, the leading global technology innovator for healthcare at home, in partnership with the Council of State Home Care and Hospice Associations and Forum of State Associations.
The focus on having more efficient operations was reflected in the top concerns from respondents: staffing, and addressing the changing payment dynamics and new regulations and oversight in the care at home industry.
When asked about how technology can support their operations, 50% of respondents wanted operational process improvement and 36% are looking for more effective documentation methods. And when it comes to what kind of technology investment will yield the most return on investment in 2024, 47% of respondents said employee engagement and 45% said staff training technology.
“It’s clear that care at home organizations are looking to streamline operations as they optimize business operations,’ said Tammy Ross, Executive Vice President of Professional Services at Axxess.
“I am encouraged by these results because they show that organizations want to remain viable and deliver high-quality care at home. Hospice and home healthcare reimbursement is shifting toward a focus on both value and quality, so embracing technology is the fastest way to elevate operations in a way that improves efficiency, optimizes outcomes and attracts and retains staff.”
The survey was distributed to thousands of organizations nationwide in late November through late December. Axxess’ professional services team and leaders from both partner organizations also contributed best practice guidance that addresses survey responses in a report that is available for download here. |
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Medicare Advantage Analysis Sparks Infighting at MedPAC Meeting
Fierce Healthcare | By Noah TongJan
A MedPAC meeting on the status of Medicare Advantage held Friday began with numbers on enrollment and insights into coding diagnoses before devolving into contentious debate over the quality of the report and whether the program is a good development for healthcare in the country.
Brian Miller, an assistant professor of medicine at John's Hopkins University, was at the center of complaints toward the status report compiled by policy analysts, arguing that the report only highlighted the negatives of the program and that past suggestions of his have not been taken into consideration.
Because Miller believed the report was decidedly anti-Medicare Advantage, he challenged the analysts to name three positive things about the program, calling into question the objectivity of the report. They responded that they strive for balance, and the commission, which is a nonpartisan independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare, has a long history of supporting private plans in the Medicare program. When chair Michael Chernew, professor of healthcare policy at Harvard, attempted to move along the conversation to the next commission member, Miller persisted.
"I think this is important for the public record because it gets to how balanced we are and how we approach programs, and this didn't really feel very balanced," he said. "There are plenty of bad things definitely that need to be improved ... I think it's really important again that it's a neutral thoughtful policy analysis."
Better Medicare Alliance, an advocacy organization in support of MA, stated they have "concerns" about MedPAC's methodology in the recent report. They highlight how 99% of patients have enhanced supplemental benefits in plans with $18 premiums.
"Relative to beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are lower-income, more diverse medically and socially complex and increasingly live in rural areas," said President and CEO Mary Beth Donahue in a statement shared with Fierce Healthcare following the hearing.
Over the course of the more than two-hour discussion, many members pushed back against the claims, praising the analysts' comprehensive look at Medicare Advantage in the report…
Read Full Article |
How Home Health Providers, Payers Are Adapting to New Referral Patterns
Home Health Care News | By Patrick Filbin
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t uncommon for home health agencies and other post-acute care providers to beg hospitals to be a part of their post-acute networks.
Three years later, that’s generally not the case. The referral patterns in home-based care have seen a radical shift, and agency leaders are still adjusting to those changes and making adjustments on the fly.
“We were used to hearing from hospitals that we had to have a five star rating, have to have a medical director and all these other ancillary services,” Health Dimensions Group (HDG) CEO Erin Shvetzoff Hennessey said at Aging Media Network’s Continuum conference in December. “Now, the hospitals are realizing that the patients that they need help discharging don’t always fit into this five star model. These are difficult patients and sometimes difficult patients result in survey activity that doesn’t move you into the five star category. So, if you start to create this preferred provider network, it gets a little too preferred — and they need post-acute care to take these patients and to clear the hospital out.”
HDG operates a portfolio of 25 senior living communities across eight states. It also has a major contingent of skilled nursing properties.
Hennessey said that, because patients being discharged from the hospital are more complicated than they were before, two different referral groups are starting to emerge.
On one side, there are the five star referral partners who meet all the certain metrics that hospitals like to see.
“And then there’s this off-to-the-side network where we know that discharge planners are really connecting with post-acute,” Hennessey said. “These are the providers saying yes. Now we have this formal network and this informal network that’s actually getting patients moved.”
Referrals to home health care have been on a steady increase over the last three years. At the same time, providers are rejecting them at an unprecedented rate…
Read Full Article |
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