Literature Review

The Top 10 Home Health Care News Stories Of 2023Home Health Care NewsDecember 20, 2023In the first year that truly felt “post-COVID,” home-based care providers did not see a shortage of challenges. Instead, in 2023, home health providers saw another year defined by payment struggles, with both the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Medicare Advantage plans.  ... Reflect back on this year in home-based care by revisiting 10 of HHCN’s most widely read stories.

Largest nursing home in St. Louis closes suddenly, forcing out 170 residentsAssociated PressDecember 18, 2023St. Louis, MO—The largest skilled nursing facility in St. Louis has closed suddenly, forcing about 170 residents to be bused to other care centers. Many left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The abrupt shutdown of Northview Village Nursing Home on Friday came after workers learned they might not be paid and walked out, confusing residents and their relatives. Many family members gathered through the day Saturday outside the facility on the city’s north side. Some didn’t immediately know where their loved ones were taken. 

Home Health Spending Begins To Climb Again Post-PandemicHome Health Care NewsDecember 13, 2023After stalling in 2021, spending on home health care returned to a more normalized growth rate in 2022, according to a new analysis from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Specifically, national health expenditures on home health care increased by 6% to $132.9 billion in 2022. 

2023’s Most Impactful Hospice Regulatory MovesHospice NewsDecember 12, 2023Program integrity issues that have heated up in the hospice space during the past five years reached a boiling point in 2023. Hospice providers have seen an array of increased regulatory oversight in 2023. That momentum has been fueled by two main concerns among regulators—risks of patient safety and evidence of malfeasance in the space. Hospice News sat down with providers, advocacy groups, legal experts and other stakeholders to uncover the most significant hospice regulatory trends from this year and their anticipated impacts heading into 2024 and beyond. ...Editor's Note: Quoted in the article, Jason Wallace, partner in health care, Barnes & Thornburg LLP; Ben Marcantonio, COO and interim CEO, NHPCO; Carrie Uebel, senior vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer, Compassus

New Mexico’s Medicaid Rate Hike Bodes Well For Addus, Other Home-Based Care ProvidersHome Health Care NewsDecember 7, 2023New Mexico is increasing its reimbursement rates for providers that bill Medicaid in the state. Overall, providers are set to get an additional $409 million in reimbursement. The increases will start taking shape on claims made on or after July 1, 2023. Another rate hike is expected in the future for CY 2025. “Thanks to this substantial funding boost, Medicaid providers across New Mexico will now receive reimbursements at rates as high as 120% of Medicare,” Lorelei Kellogg, the acting director for the New Mexico Medicaid program, said in a press release. “By elevating rates, New Mexico Medicaid continues to work toward the goal of ensuring that all New Mexicans enrolled in the program have access to vital health care services.”

UnitedHealth hit with Medicare Advantage marketing complaintModern HealthcareDecember 7, 2023Advocates for people with disabilities are calling on regulators [to] halt what they describe as misleading Medicare Advantage marketing by UnitedHealth Group. The Center for Medicare Advocacy, National Health Law Program, Disability Rights Connecticut and National Disability Rights Network wrote the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Trade Commission and other state and federal officials Thursday to protest UnitedHealthcare advertisements for Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans appearing in Connecticut. The ads target people with both Medicare and Medicaid and spotlight extra benefits from Medicare Advantage plans that state and federal laws already require, the groups wrote. “Unquestionably, this misleading advertising is intended to induce, and has induced, thousands if not tens of thousands of older adults and disabled low-income individuals we are charged with representing to sign up for UnitedHealthcare’s plan, having been led to believe this means they can get extra benefits,” the letter says. UnitedHealth Group did not immediately respond to an interview request.