April 16-17, 2024, Washington, D.C. Take Advocacy Action Now!

Each year, our most engaged members and industry friends touch down in our nation’s capital to advocate with lawmakers for support of the care-in-the-home community. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) tracks critical legislative, regulatory, and policy issues that affect our members to ensure you’re on top of what’s ahead. Your concerns are our priority!

CMS has updated its Frequently Asked Questions for the expanded Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model.

 

The 18 pages of new and updated responses address changes finalized for the 2025 performance year, as well as some process changes for 2024.

 

Changes for 2024 includes new measure removal factors, as well as an appeals process beyond a reconsideration request. Beginning with the 2024 Annual Performance Report, released in August, agencies will be able to request an administrator review following a reconsideration decision.

 

At the top of the changes for 2025 is a shift in OASIS self-care and mobility items from select M items to select GG items and, among claims-based measures, the change from Acute Care Hospitalization (ACH) and Emergency Department Use (ED Use) to the Potentially Preventable Hospitalization (PPH).

 

See the full FAQs at https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/media/document/hhvbp-exp-faqs.

 

Earlier this month the US House of Representatives approved the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act. Championed by Representatives Julia Brownley (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) the legislation was passed by a vote of 414-5.

 

The Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act provides enhanced home care services for veterans. At its core, the legislation seeks to provide critical financial support and resources to enhance access to essential care services, allowing individuals to receive necessary assistance while remaining in their homes.

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice on Tuesday described the administration’s recent request for a federal judge to throw out the home health lawsuit as “fully expected.” 

 

“The government’s position in responding to the NAHC lawsuit, as set out in its Dec. 15 brief, was fully expected,” William Dombi, president of NAHC, said in a statement to McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “Virtually every lawsuit against Medicare includes an effort to dismiss the case on the grounds that the court does not have the power to adjudicate the complaints. Medicare is simply trying to avoid getting the court to focus on the actual merits of our lawsuit.”

Two of the nation’s largest hospice and home-based care industry organizations are merging and have announced a combined board that will guide the transition.

 

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) floated the possibility of a combination in March in light of their existing, highly collaborative working relationship. Recently, many of those efforts have included advocacy around program integrity within the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

 

The organizations have been moving forward under the guidance of a steering committee informed by members of both NAHC and NHPCO, with support from the consulting firm McKinley Advisors.

  

Assisted Living Services, Inc., a family-owned, non-medical homecare agency in Chesire and Westport, Conn. has announced that it has acquired Day Kimball Health’s Day Kimball Homemakers, Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The acquisition is an expansion of award-winning services now available to the approximately 880,000 residents ages 60 and older across the state.

 

Both organizations are committed to a smooth transition for employees and clients, and all Day Kimball Homemakers employees have been offered positions with Assisted Living Services. As such, Day Kimball Homemakers’ clients will not experience any interruption in services. Day Kimball Healthcare at Home is unaffected by the recent sale and will continue to offer high-quality home health care and hospice services.