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October 6, 2021
Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) provide Medicaid beneficiaries opportunities to receive services in their own home or community rather than institutions or other isolated settings. These programs serve various targeted population groups, such as people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental illnesses.
In the absence of other viable public or private options to finance current and future LTSS needs for people of all ages, Medicaid will continue to be the major financing and delivery system for Home and Community Based Services for millions of Americans. Addressing community-based provider shortages and streamlining access to community-based care that supports functional independence and enhancing the quality of life will remain key objectives of states’ rebalancing efforts as the need for Medicaid HCBS continues to grow.
At CareVoyant, we are empowering home and community-based services providers by developing cost-effective software solutions for care delivery and revenue cycle management.
Home Health care plays a growing and critical role in providing care at home for adult and pediatric patients. Despite all the challenges facing the home health care industry, it will continue to grow and play an integral part in providing care at home. Several emerging trends will define that ascent in the year ahead.
Through 2021 and after, home care agencies need to identify key trends that will aid or hurt their business models and continually reconfigure themselves for success. In this article, we are bringing out the top home care predictions for 2021 and beyond.
Consumer Directed Services (CDS) are home healthcare services offered by Medicaid or Medicaid waiver programs where the consumer (Patient) can hire the caregiver and coordinate the services authorized.
Medicaid or Medicaid Waiver programs authorize Consumer Directed Services with limits on the number of hours of services provided per day or per month. These limits add another layer of challenge to the agencies. They have to limit the services provided under authorized hours even though they do not have complete control over the hiring of caregivers and managing their services.
When services go over authorized hours, the agencies face the uncomfortable task of telling the caregivers that they may not get paid for the services provided over authorized hours.
An effective software platform should have the functions and features to help agencies manage the challenges posed by Consumer Directed Services.
Home Healthcare Industry News
There’s a Lot of Unmet Need’: Addressing Long HCBS Waitlists
Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are a way to fill gaps in care for seniors with complex medical conditions, with Medicaid being the main source of coverage for long-term services and supports (LTSS).
As of 2020, over 2.5 million individuals received HCBS services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Still, there are hundreds of thousands of other individuals on waiting lists, with many forced to turn to the “underground” and unregulated caregiving market.
38 States Have Increased HCBS Payments During the Pandemic
To keep vulnerable Americans at home and out of riskier long-term care settings during the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave states an unprecedented ability to temporarily modify their Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs.
But while the emergency waivers issued by CMS helped limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, their full impact is largely known, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
What is the Better Care Better Jobs Act?
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need to ensure that all Americans can receive quality, long-term care in the setting that best meets their needs and preferences. Most Americans would prefer to receive services and supports at home. Today, more than 3.5 million older adults and people with disabilities receive Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Though all states provide coverage for some HCBS services, eligibility and benefit standards vary, leading to significant variations and gaps in coverage. Some states cap the number of individuals who may receive services, leaving almost 820,000 Americans on wait lists.
About CareVoyant
CareVoyant is a leading provider of cloud-based integrated enterprise-scale home health care software that can support all home-based services under ONE Software, ONE Patient, and ONE Employee, making it a Single System of Record. We support all home care lines of service, including Home Care, Private Duty Nursing, Private Duty Non-Medical, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), Home Health, Pediatric Home Care, and Outpatient Therapy.
CareVoyant functions – Intake, Scheduling, Clinical with Mobile options, electronic visit verification, eMAR/eTAR, Financial, Secure Messaging, Notification, Reporting, and Dashboards – streamline workflow, meet regulatory requirements, improve quality of care, optimize reimbursement, and bring operational efficiency.
For more information, please visit CareVoyant.com or call us at 1-888-463-6797.
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