Remember the Importance of Home Health During Older Americans Month
Each May, the Administration on Aging commemorates Older Americans Month (#OAM18), an annual celebration of the aging members of our families and communities. This year’s theme is Engage at Every Age, which emphasizes that no one is ever too old to enrich their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. For the approximately 3.5 million Americans who…
Congress Must Act Quickly to Restore the Home Healthcare Rural Safeguard
Millions of older Americans depend on Medicare in order to age with dignity and comfort in their own homes. For seniors living in rural areas, the Medicare home health benefit is especially important because other healthcare options are often limited. Older Americans living in rural areas face greater healthcare obstacles than their urban counterparts. A study by…
Thanks to You, CMS Did Not Finalize the Home Health Groupings Model!
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) Rule for CY 2018, the home health community was pleased to see that the Home Health Groupings Model was not included in the final rule.
Patient Groups, Providers and Lawmakers Agree: CMS Should Withdraw the Home Health Groupings Model
Our concerns about the Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are being echoed by patient advocates, provider groups and bipartisan lawmakers! Groups ranging from the American Hospital Association to a group of 49 bipartisan members of the Senate have called the proposal “drastic” or “radical” and…
CMS Should Collaborate with the Home Health Community to Improve the HHGM
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) released their CY 2018 proposal for the Health Prospective Payment System (HHPS) and the Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) within it. This proposal would drastically alter the home health payment system, putting the 3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries that depend on the home health benefit at risk….
Ask Congress to Extend the Home Health Rural Safeguard Today!
As a person gets older, certain things once taken for granted become increasingly difficult. Health becomes harder to manage and appointments with doctors and healthcare providers become harder to reach, especially for seniors residing in rural areas. The Moran Company estimates the average rural patient’s travel distance to her doctor or nearest hospital is…
Father’s Day: A Reminder of the Importance of Spending Time at Home with Family
With Father’s Day approaching, the important role family plays in an individual’s daily life, particularly as a person ages, becomes impossible to overlook. As American families grow and seniors transition from the role of parent to grandparent (or even great grandparent!), the ability to celebrate comfortably with family becomes more and more central. On holidays…
Older Americans Month Highlights the Importance of Home Healthcare
May is Older Americans Month, a time to celebrate the contributions older Americans make in their communities. The theme this year is “Age Out Loud.” It’s a time to empower America’s seniors to speak up about what it means to get older. More than ever before, older Americans are working longer, pursuing new opportunities,…
New Study Shows Why We Need to Expand the Home Health Rural Safeguard
A new study by the Moran Company uncovered the many challenges home health beneficiaries in rural areas face in accessing care. The study found significant disparities between rural and urban home health beneficiaries: In 2014, seniors living in rural areas were 15% less likely to receive home health services. Medicare home…
Good News: CMS is Re-thinking the Home Health Pre-Claim Review Demonstration
On March 31, the home health community received some good news from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)! CMS announced that it would stop the planned implementation of a Pre-Claim Review Demonstration (PCRD) in Florida, which would have applied new, mandatory regulatory requirements on all home health agencies operating across the state…