Support S. 2137/H.R. 5159 to Save the Medicare Home Health Program

Two weeks ago, NAHC & The Partnership held a Medicare Home Health Staff Briefing regarding the Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2023 (S.2137/H.R. 5159). Here are the leave-behinds, including the testimonials, that were shared:

• To download Mr. Dombi's presentation, CLICK HERE.

• To download Ms. Edwards' presentation, CLICK HERE.

• To download Ms. Massey's presentation, CLICK HERE.

• To download the Home Care Chartbook 2023, CLICK HERE.

Passage of this legislation is imperative to ensure the continued functioning of the Medicare Home Health Program

Please click on the following link to send a message to your representatives, and then share it with staff, colleagues, family, friends and your social media outlets.

https://p2a.co/8IGAgf7

Take Part in Home Care Pulse Study of Home-based Care

Every year, HCP performs the largest annual study on home-based care, home health, and hospice and publishes the results in its 200+ page HCP Benchmarking Report. This year marks the 15th year the report will be used by organizations nation[1]wide to benchmark their performance against industry standards, learn best practices from the experts, and make more informed decisions.

As a survey participant, you won’t just be helping the industry, you’ll also discover valuable insights about your own business as you reflect on your 2023 survey data.

HCP is offering a free digital copy ($999 value) and a $1,000+ savings on a physical copy to everyone who signs up to participate in the survey by February 9th.

Learn more: Participate - HCP Benchmarking (homecarepulse.com)

How Home Health Providers, Payers Are Adapting to New Referral Patterns

Home Health Care News | By Patrick Filbin

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t uncommon for home health agencies and other post-acute care providers to beg hospitals to be a part of their post-acute networks.

Three years later, that’s generally not the case. The referral patterns in home-based care have seen a radical shift, and agency leaders are still adjusting to those changes and making adjustments on the fly.

“We were used to hearing from hospitals that we had to have a five star rating, have to have a medical director and all these other ancillary services,” Health Dimensions Group (HDG) CEO Erin Shvetzoff Hennessey said at Aging Media Network’s Continuum conference in December. “Now, the hospitals are realizing that the patients that they need help discharging don’t always fit into this five star model. These are difficult patients and sometimes difficult patients result in survey activity that doesn’t move you into the five star category. So, if you start to create this preferred provider network, it gets a little too preferred — and they need post-acute care to take these patients and to clear the hospital out.”

HDG operates a portfolio of 25 senior living communities across eight states. It also has a major contingent of skilled nursing properties.

Hennessey said that, because patients being discharged from the hospital are more complicated than they were before, two different referral groups are starting to emerge.

On one side, there are the five star referral partners who meet all the certain metrics that hospitals like to see.

“And then there’s this off-to-the-side network where we know that discharge planners are really connecting with post-acute,” Hennessey said. “These are the providers saying yes. Now we have this formal network and this informal network that’s actually getting patients moved.”

Referrals to home health care have been on a steady increase over the last three years. At the same time, providers are rejecting them at an unprecedented rate…

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Medicare Advantage Analysis Sparks Infighting at MedPAC Meeting

Fierce Healthcare | By Noah TongJan
 
A MedPAC meeting on the status of Medicare Advantage held Friday began with numbers on enrollment and insights into coding diagnoses before devolving into contentious debate over the quality of the report and whether the program is a good development for healthcare in the country.
 
Brian Miller, an assistant professor of medicine at John's Hopkins University, was at the center of complaints toward the status report compiled by policy analysts, arguing that the report only highlighted the negatives of the program and that past suggestions of his have not been taken into consideration.
 
Because Miller believed the report was decidedly anti-Medicare Advantage, he challenged the analysts to name three positive things about the program, calling into question the objectivity of the report. They responded that they strive for balance, and the commission, which is a nonpartisan independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare, has a long history of supporting private plans in the Medicare program. When chair Michael Chernew, professor of healthcare policy at Harvard, attempted to move along the conversation to the next commission member, Miller persisted.
 
"I think this is important for the public record because it gets to how balanced we are and how we approach programs, and this didn't really feel very balanced," he said. "There are plenty of bad things definitely that need to be improved ... I think it's really important again that it's a neutral thoughtful policy analysis."
 
Better Medicare Alliance, an advocacy organization in support of MA, stated they have "concerns" about MedPAC's methodology in the recent report. They highlight how 99% of patients have enhanced supplemental benefits in plans with $18 premiums.
 
"Relative to beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are lower-income, more diverse medically and socially complex and increasingly live in rural areas," said President and CEO Mary Beth Donahue in a statement shared with Fierce Healthcare following the hearing.
 
Over the course of the more than two-hour discussion, many members pushed back against the claims, praising the analysts' comprehensive look at Medicare Advantage in the report…

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