The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) submitted its Medicare payment policy report to Congress on Friday, again recommending a 5% home health payment rate reduction for the coming year and maintaining its view that program integrity remains problematic.
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The senior counselor to CMS Administrator Seema Verma on Tuesday (Feb. 26) touted the agency’s proposed changes to the Medicaid managed care rule and told stakeholders they can expect the final rule to be out this fall. CMS is reviewing the 275 comments it received on the proposed rule, which the agency released in November. The rule seeks to modify the landmark Medicaid managed care regulations adopted by the Obama administration in 2016.
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It is 7:30 on a summer morning in a room overlooking the slate-gray, lapping waters of Lake Erie. Ten or so people, some just arriving at work, some finishing a night shift, sit silently on benches and in armchairs below stained-glass windows. A plump golden retriever named Linus, a therapy dog, wanders from one person to another, gratefully accepting their caresses.
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Insurance giant Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is touting the value of its home health business – and its ability to prevent costly hospital readmissions and streamline transitions of care.
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The CMS issued a final rule late Monday aimed at giving states and health insurers more flexibility and reducing regulatory burdens in the individual and small group health insurance markets. read more

On a rare rainy night in Albuquerque, two dozen students are learning the proper way to care for older people. Teacher Liliana Reyes is reviewing the systems of the body – circulatory, respiratory and so on – to prepare them for an upcoming exam. read more

The days of the hospital as we know it may be numbered. In a shift away from their traditional inpatient facilities, health-care providers are investing in outpatient clinics, same-day surgery centers, free-standing emergency rooms and microhospitals, which offer as few as eight beds for overnight stays. They are setting up programs that monitor people 24/7 in their own homes. And they are turning to digital technology to treat and keep tabs on patients remotely from a high-tech hub.
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The rollout of electronic visit verification (EVV) for home care has created a “firestorm” of complaints in Ohio, according to a recent article in the Columbus Dispatch. However, that news story painted an incomplete picture, some home care providers and EVV vendors have told Home Health Care News.
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Coming guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could settle some big questions regarding electronic visit verification (EVV) in home care, setting the stage for a lot of activity throughout 2018. read more

A day after the Trump administration announced that it would allow states to compel poor people on Medicaid to work or get ready for jobs, federal health officials on Friday granted Kentucky permission to impose those requirements.
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