Online demand for home health is on the rise
Online demand for home health services is on the rise, according to a recent article from Home Health News. Caregiver resource sites like Care.com and LivingSenior.com have seen an uptick in requests for in-home care information and services, said representatives: Care.com, an online site that connects families with care providers, reported that roughly 80% of the customers they speak with…
Independence Starts at Home
Tomorrow we come together to celebrate our nation’s independence with family, friends, food and fireworks. It’s a great time to reflect on what it means to be free. For many Americans who are ill or aging, independence means the ability to receive quality care in the comfort of their own homes. Home healthcare is…
Chairman Billy Tauzin Discusses the Value of Home Health on Senior Voice America Radio
On June 19, Congressman Billy Tauzin spoke with Senior Voice America on the importance of skilled home healthcare and the value it provides to the senior community. Click here to listen to the full interview. Interview Highlights Home health has been on the budget-cutting table for several years. The Partnership for…
CMS Program Enables More Home-Based Care for Americas Seniors
What The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is enhancing Medicaid funding to states that want to provide more home and community-based services for the elderly and disabled. The funding is authorized under an AffordableCare Act program called the Balancing Incentive Program. Who CMS recently announced that Missouri, Mississippi, Georgia and Iowa will be awarded federal…
REPORT: Cuts to Home Health Increase Long-Term Healthcare Costs
The Report Health & Medicine Policy Research Group’s Center for Long-Term Care Reform published a recently released a report titled “Medicaid Home Care Cuts: Analysis of Unintended and Unnecessary Consequences.” The report was issued in response to a proposed Illinois state budget that calls for $2.7 billion in cuts to the state Medicaid…
Final Rule: VA HBPC Eliminates Co-Payments for Tele-Health
Recognizing the home as a preferred place of care for veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday released a final ruling that eliminates patient co-payments for in-home video telehealth care through its Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program (read the final rule here). VA first proposed the rule to eliminate co-pays in March…
VA Eliminates Copayment to Expand Home Health Access
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced plans to remove copayment requirements for in-home video tele-health care in the hopes of making the home a preferred place of care, when medically appropriate for the patient. The Partnership applauds the decision to eliminate copayment requirements for in-home video tele-health care. With healthcare costs…
Medicare and Medicaid Fraud: a Targeted Problem in Need of a Targeted Solution
We recently had the opportunity to attend the Alliance for Health Reform briefing on healthcare fraud and prevention. It’s an important and timely topic for the home healthcare community. Our community recognizes that program integrity and payment reforms are needed to strengthen the Medicare and Medicaid programs and secure seniors’ access to quality healthcare services….
Program Integrity Reforms Work
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data that backs up the Partnership’s position that program integrity reforms in Medicare can result in serious healthcare savings. In 2009, the home healthcare community proposed a 10 percent cap on outlier payments to Medicare home healthcare providers. The proposed policy was included in…