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June 27, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() This Week at CT Healthcare At Home
Legislative Update
The two top priority bills that passed during the 2024 Legislative Session (Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 5001) included major changes impacting the safety and welfare of both the communities we serve and our home care staff. Join us for this informational webinar which will cover the highlights of the home care portions of these bills as well as legal interpretive guidance for compliance.
Speakers:
News Update
By Andrew Donlan | June 26, 2024
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its FY 2025 home health proposed payment rule Wednesday. With it, the agency signaled that more significant cuts could be on the way for providers. To rebalance the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and make it budget neutral, at least according to its internal methodology, CMS is proposing a permanent prospective adjustment to the CY 2025 home health payment rate of -4.067%. For CY 2023 and CY 2024, CMS previously applied a 3.925% reduction and a 2.890% reduction, respectively. “This adjustment accounts for differences between assumed behavior changes and actual behavior changes on estimated aggregate expenditures due to the CY 2020 implementation of the PDGM and the change to a 30-day unit of payment,” CMS wrote in a fact sheet on the proposed rule. The CMS proposed rule includes a CY 2025 home health payment update of 2.5%, which is offset by an estimated 3.6% decrease related to the PDGM rebalancing and an estimated 0.6% decrease that reflects a proposed fixed dollar loss. Overall, CMS estimates that Medicare payments to home health agencies in CY 2025 would decrease in the aggregate by 1.7%, or by about $280 million, compared to 2024 levels. Source: NAHC, June 20, 2024
On June 10, the board chairs and chief executive officers of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) met in Washington, D.C. to formally sign the affiliation agreement between the two leading organizations in the care at home community.
NAHC and NHPCO are the two largest organizations representing and advocating for providers of care in the home and the millions of disabled, elderly, and dying Americans who depend on that care. With more than 90 years of experience between them, NAHC and NHPCO provide world class education to help their members deliver the best possible care and tireless advocacy to expand access to home and community-based services.
Has your organization cared for at least one pediatric patient in the last four years? If so, complete the 2024 Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Needs Assessment. The Needs Assessment is a product of the Pediatric Advisory Council with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the organizations and providers caring for pediatric patients who have serious illnesses throughout the United States, helping create resources and support advocacy. Please complete the survey for each location of your organization. Any questions can be directed to pediatrics@nhpco.org.
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![]() Source: DecisionHealth, June 13, 2024
A draft version of the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act has been released by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, and industry advocates say they’re encouraged by this new effort to address concerns about program integrity.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice noted that, as drafted, the act would increase survey frequency for new hospices, create coverage for in-home respite services and require medical review contractors to have specialized knowledge and training in hospice.
Source: NAHC, June 21, 2024
The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, introduced by a bipartisan and bicameral group of congressional legislators this month, would reform the prior authorization system in Medicare by implementing electronic systems and standardized requirements across payers. Through this transition the bill aims to expedite approvals, reduce administrative burdens and enhance communication between providers and payers.
Membership News
At the beginning of June, WellSky presented its inaugural in-person course to prep providers for their new certification (Clinical Care Specialist for Home Health or CCS-HH). This certification is the first of its kind in the country!
We’re proud to say that all 23 participants passed the certification exam and are now certified! Congratulations to all and thank you Cindy Campbell and Sharon Seaton from WellSky for offering such expert training!
Source: Pennant Group, June 18, 2024
EAGLE, Idaho, June 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Pennant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG), the parent company of the Pennant group of affiliated home health, hospice and senior living companies, announced that it has entered into a management and consulting services agreement to provide operational support to Hartford HealthCare at Home (HHCAH), the home health and hospice business of Hartford HealthCare.
Hartford HealthCare is the highest ranking in quality, comprehensive non-profit integrated health system in Connecticut, and HHCAH’s home-based care spans the state, with eight locations, more than 1,000 employees, and more than 33,000 home health admissions and approximately 4,000 hospice admissions over the trailing 12 months. Hartford HealthCare has provided home-based care for over a century, and this engagement of Pennant reflects its continued commitment to home-based care as an essential and growing part of the care continuum and a central component of Hartford HealthCare’s future. Hartford HealthCare at Home remains owned by Hartford HealthCare and is a critical part of Hartford HealthCare’s ecosystem of care.
MIDDLETOWN, CT - Change Inc., a leading homecare provider, is proud to announce its 15 year anniversary. The celebration will be held on Wednesday, July 3 with a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and an open house at the location: 1251 South Main Street, Middletown, 06457.
Since its founding in 2009 by former firefighter Derrick Gibbs, and with a passion to help, Change Inc. has been dedicated to helping more than 1,000 members of the community remain independent in their homes. Change Inc. has become a staple in the community for its commitment to providing high-quality care and support to its clients. Through unwavering dedication and a relentless pursuit of excellence, Change Inc. has expanded its services to cover the entire state of Connecticut as well as provide various services under all the state waiver programs. Change Inc. was named Hartford Business Journal’s Mental Healthcare Provider of the Year and ShopBlackCT’s “Best Professional Services” in 2023. Source: Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Services, June 2024
The HCS Home Care and Hospice Salary & Benefits studies are now underway! This is the fifth year the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home (CAHCH) has partnered with Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS) on the studies. Both studies are also published in cooperation with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.
The reports are recognized as the authoritative source for comprehensive marketplace data for home health hospice agencies. Last year’s Home Care Report contained data from 1,018 home health agencies and included data from 16 Connecticut agencies. The Hospice Report had data from 704 hospice agencies and included data from 10 Connecticut agencies.
Both studies include questions on staffing issues, nursing vacancy turnover rates and sign-on bonuses used by agencies to attract new employees. The results cover job data by salary, hourly and per-visit rates with job data breakouts by auspice, revenue size, region, state and CBSA. Regional data for 19 fringe benefits, planned salary increases, productivity, caseload and shift differential data are also covered.
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