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CMS Proposes $80 Million Cut in Home Health PPS Payments for 2018
Posted: Aug. 1, 2017
CMS is proposing to cut CY 2018 Medicare home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) payments by 0.4% — or $80 million overall — compared to 2017 rates under a proposed rule published on July 28, 2017, Reed Smith LLP reports. Furthermore, the agency plans major revisions to the HH PPS case-mix methodology for 2019 that potentially could cut payments by as much as $950 million (-4.3%) in 2019.
CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until September 25, 2017.
The proposal included the home health groupings model (HHGM)—a model home health care companies see as a threat and a major upheaval to business operations, Home Health Care News reported. Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) CEO Paul Kusserow had some fighting words to say about the new groupings model during the company’s earnings call Thursday morning: “Please also remember, it ain’t over until it’s over.”
The groupings model eliminates any incentive for home health care agencies to provide more therapy that comes with higher reimbursement rates. Kusserow expressed worry that doing away with these high reimbursement rates will effectively push home health care providers away from caring for higher acuity patients. The move is in opposition to health care system initiatives that have enabled home health care providers to care for higher acuity patients since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Home Care Association of Colorado is offering a 90-minute webinar on the topic with Melinda Gaboury, one of the nation's leading experts on the complexities of home health payment, for this 90 minute webinar.
Ms. Gaboury is the CEO of Healthcare Provider Solutions, which provides financial, reimbursement, clinical and cost reporting services to the home care, hospice and rehabilitation therapy industries.
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NAHC Webinar Recording: The New Home Health Payment Rule Effective CY 2018
Posted: July 31, 2017
This webinar was recorded on Monday, July 31, 2017
Program Description:
Mary Carr and William Dombi will walk through the changes and discuss follow up actions that both the association and agencies need to be doing in advance of the implementation.
Program Faculty:
William A. Dombi, Esq., Vice President for Law, NAHC
Mary K. Carr, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs
Members, click here to access the handouts and recording (login required). |
Members Only: HCAC Comments On Proposed Home and Community Based Services Rate Methodology
Posted: July 27, 2017
The Home Care Association of Colorado today submitted comments regarding the proposed methodology for the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) rates.
Thanks to all of our members who contributed to the association's response. |
HCAC Welcomes The Following Agencies As New Members To The Association
- AffirmiCare, Boulder
- Angels of Care Pediatric Home Health, Denver
- COBALT Home Health Care, Centennial
- J&V Enterprises, LLC, Fountain
- Preferred Care at Home of Colorado Springs
- Transitions Home Health Care, Westminster
Search for a member agency here. For a full list of 2017 member agencies, click here. |
NAHC President Val J. Halamandaris Has Passed Away
Posted: July 27, 2017
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice, of which the Home Care Association of Colorado is an affiliate member, announced the passing of its president, Val J. Halamandaris. HCAC recognizes and honors Halamandaris' long service to our profession and sends its sympathies to NAHC and the Halamandaris family.
It is with great sadness that the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) announces the passing of its president, Val J. Halamandaris.
Often referred to as the “leader of the last great civil rights movement”, Val worked tirelessly for 50 years to improve the lives and secure the rights of America’s elderly and infirm. A self-described “small-town boy who came to Washington, D.C. many years ago, full of ideals,” Val responded to President John F. Kennedy’s call to public service by joining the staff of Senator Frank E. Moss (D-UT) and enrolling in George Washington University and then Catholic University Law School.
Val was quickly drawn to the issues facing senior citizens with the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging and was instrumental in crafting the landmark Medicare and Medicaid programs, including the home health benefit. In 1967, Val and Senator Moss created the “Moss Amendments,” which set minimum federal standards for nursing homes.
Full story
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