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| November 9, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This Week at CT Healthcare At Home
News Update
The tragic loss of behavioral health home care nurse Joyce Grayson this past week has stirred emotions in all of us that we shouldn’t have to experience. We are so sorry to each and every home care staff member and their agencies, but most especially, to Joyce’s family and loved ones. The calling hours and funeral this past weekend were filled with an outpouring of love and support from her community, her church and many of you who offered solace to the family as they grieve through these dark days ahead. The CT Nurses Honor Guard was present at the funeral to lift up Joyce’s life as a nurse as well as all the nurses present. The emotions filled the sanctuary. As an Association, our Board agreed to promote the wearing of a white ribbon which is the universal symbol of Faith and Hope and represents Healthcare Workers on the frontline. Please consider participating in this show of support at least through the month of November, National Home Care and Hospice Month. In addition, we will be focusing our legislative efforts, both short term and long term, on safety and protections for the home care providers and their communities served. May Joyce Grayson’s memory and amazing dedication to her home health patients be ever engrained in our actions and the care we provide in our community. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Final Rule regarding Medicare home health services payment rates for CY 2024. As usual, the rule also includes a hodgepodge of non-rate related proposals as well. This article provides a summary of the Final Rule. NAHC will be providing more detail over the next week as the rule is further analyzed along with a nationwide webinar. Overall, the Final Rule presents serious concerns for the home health community as CMS proposes further, significant rate reductions to account for the change in the payment model in 2020. Medicare law requires CMS to make permanent and temporary adjustments intended to ensure that the transition to the PDGM payment model is budget neutral in comparison to expected Medicare spending if the 2019 payment model were in place through 2026.
Source: NAHC, Nov. 1, 2023
On Wednesday, Oct. 25, the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing titled, “Supporting Access to Long-Term Services and Supports: An Examination of the Impacts of Proposed Regulations on Workforce and Access to Care.” The hearing specifically looked at two recent regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: The Medicaid Access Rule and its 80-20 passthrough provision and the Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule.
Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) opened the hearing with discussion of the regulations, noting that “While well-intentioned, these rules are misguided and will ultimately threaten to undermine access to vital services that our most vulnerable rely upon.”
Source: NAHC, Nov. 3, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) has been developing a new Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) data collection tool—HOPE (Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation). The HOPE is a standardized assessment instrument that hospices would use as part of the comprehensive assessment process to collect clinical and demographic patient data that is submitted to CMS and upon which future quality measures will be developed. CMS completed beta testing for the HOPE in fall 2022 and has been analyzing the results with the intent to propose HOPE implementation in the HQRP in future rulemaking.
Source: NAHC, Nov. 2, 2023
For home care leaders, determining the wages of salespeople, caregivers and other contributors is a major undertaking. It is part art, part science, and it is hard to perfect.
At the Home Care Association of America’s (HCAOA) annual conference last month, providers offered a peak behind the curtain on how those determinations take place.
Hillendale Home Care CEO Jesse Walters, A Long Term Companion (ALTC) Vice President Brett Ringold, and SVP of training and brand programs at HomeWell Care Services Michelle Cone all offered up different perspectives on how they approach compensation.
Source: Andrew Donlan, Home Health Care News, Nov. 6, 2023
 November is National Home Care and Hospice Month. This month, we celebrate and honor the home care and hospice professionals and staff who dedicate their time and expertise to support those needing care in the community. Thank you for the remarkable difference you make in the lives of the patients and clients you serve!
Membership News
 Oakland, NJ, November 2023—The national average hourly rate for RNs in home health agencies increased 3.88% in 2023, according to the 2023-2024 Home Care Salary & Benefits Report, just released by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS). The Report is supported by the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home. Hourly rate increase data represents the trend data percent increase from participants who submitted data for both the prior/current years’ study.
The national average hourly rate for RNs was $38.37. In a comparison of rates by state, RNs in Connecticut received $46.72/hour; RNs in Massachusetts received $47.18/hour; and California RNs ranked the highest in pay at $58.85/hour.
North Haven, Conn., Oct. 25, 2023—Holly Haringa has joined Corcoran Consulting Group LLC as Director of Operations and Consultant. She oversees the group’s marketing efforts, client and consultant coordination, and administrative support functions; collaborates with Corcoran team members, and actively supports the goals of its home care agency clients.
“Holly’s deep knowledge of the home care industry and her management skills will enhance the work and increase our consultants’ ability to dedicate themselves to clients’ operational, clinical and financial excellence,” said Corcoran Consulting Group President Rich Corcoran. “We’re delighted to welcome her to our growing team.”
Sign up now to reserve your seat!
If you’ve been looking for a valuable resource for home health and hospice HR professionals to collaborate and learn new skills, this is it! Led by former Vice President of Human Resources for Mass General Brigham Home Care, participants of the HR Home Health and Hospice Roundtable will share ideas, discuss challenges, and find solutions. Each session will target a specific topic area determined by a group survey and provide guidance and support to help participants not just do their job well, but also provide them with the tools to excel as an HR professional.
Your OASIS accuracy impacts every part of your organization. It impacts your quality scores, your reimbursement, your success with Value-Based Purchasing, your STAR rating, and most importantly, the care your patients receive. In essence, it impacts the very viability of your agency. That's why choosing the right education for your staff is key to success.
Education
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Home Health Survey Preparedness
