Articles

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed in 2010, addresses Care Redesign through the establishment of the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model which seeks to rewire care in terms of wellness, efficiency, and cost reduction. Since the ACA became law, a steady series of programming changes have been rolled out, and additional elements of the reform […]

As we in Home Health move into the calendar year 2015, we confront what is a rapidly changing care landscape, focused on reform efforts that challenge us from many angles. Though payment cuts represent business as usual in the homecare industry, those rate reductions now materialize in rebasing and Case-Mix scoring changes that result in […]

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will define the healthcare management, production, and delivery processes of the future by rewiring the philosophies and financial incentives in the current care continuum. Health systems across the country are beginning to internalize and address the challenges they will confront as a result of the ACA care models, and Post-Acute […]

From the 2015 Home Health PPS Proposed Rule to CMS Value-Based Purchasing: A Home Health Roadmap for Tomorrow CMS recently released the 2015 Home Health PPS Proposed Rule to outline Medicare benefit changes that will take effect next year. The Proposed Rule, open for public comment for 90 days, is an annual ritual for Home […]

Revisiting Rebasing Water cooler talk in the homecare industry has recently centered on the payment of 2014 claims, and the real-time effects of this year’s Case-Mix Rebasing on reimbursement levels. Most Home Health Providers crossed their fingers and hoped for the best in light of the 2014 PPS Final Rule Update and the installation of […]

The article below is reprinted from Tim Rowan of Rowan Consulting Associates in the Home Care Technology Report, originally published on April 23, 2014. by Liz Seegert Sometimes reality is not pretty, but it is still reality. “If home care companies do not change their mindset about how they do business in this post-ACA era, […]

As the CEO of a home health agency, you have certain expectations of quality initiatives that are started in your agency. However, back in 1996, as a field nurse for Evangeline Home Health in south Louisiana, I could never have imagined the impact our “root cause analysis” would have on me personally and patients nationally. […]

Assure Case-Mix Performance while Preparing for Healthcare Reforms Case-Mix Rebasing The 2014 PPS Final Rule outlines the rebasing of Home Health rates as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). The Rebasing, in the form of rate adjustments phased in over four years, makes its impact in many areas of […]

The CMS Innovation Center Pilot programs are slated to begin in early 2014, and will reinvent care as we have known it under the PPS model. Looking back, it is evident that the installation of the Prospective Payment System (PPS), altering how care was managed from the previous fee-for-service approach, that defined the care continuum […]

In 2013, Home Health Providers have been bombarded from all sides with challenges regarding how the homecare Benefit is evolving, and how care will be produced and managed in the near future. The 2014 PPS Proposed Rule, defined by rebasing payment cuts that extend through 2017, is our primary area of concern as the projected […]