The Home Health Care Wire
Your source for CareVoyant and industry news. November 16, 2021
As most Home Health Care agencies already provide Therapy Services as part of the Medicare Part A program, providing Outpatient Therapy Services at home under Medicare Part B or commercial payers will be a natural extension of services. Home Health Care agencies do not require any additional licenses to provide outpatient therapy services and the rapid rise in demand for in-home outpatient services provides additional revenue opportunities for agencies.
A software platform designed to handle both home health care and outpatient services will provide a unique advantage to agencies.
Private Duty Home Care agencies can use the right technology and software platform to manage the challenges posed by unique and demanding requirements of providing skilled care at home. Using the right tools will enable home health care agencies to bring operational efficiencies to the organization and take advantage of these new opportunities.
Starting January 1, 2022, Medicare will require Home Health Agencies to submit a one-time Notice of Admission (NOA) instead of Request for anticipated Payment (RAP). Medicare has been phasing out RAP payments for the last two years. The NOA is a one-time submission that establishes the HH POC and covers 30-day payment periods until the patient is discharged.
Software platforms will have to be adjusted to accommodate the new PDGM billing process. The following are some of the requirements.
Home Healthcare Industry News
New PDGM Adjustments Make It Tougher to Reach ‘Medium’ or ‘High’ Functional-Impairment Levels
Home health operators have to navigate numerous regulatory and policy changes to stay in business.
Two major ones surfaced within days of each other last week. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the home health final payment rule on Nov. 2, then the federal government announced COVID-19 vaccination requirements for health care workers on Nov. 4.
Dombi: New Home Health Rule Has Some Positives
Home health agencies dodged a bullet when it came to the federal governemnt’s new rule on home health care, said National Association for HomeCare and Hospice (NAHC) President Bill Dombi.
That’s because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) did not end up requiring spending cuts to achieve budget neutrality in the final Home Health Rule it issued this week—despite suggesting it would in the draft.
STUDY: Home Health RN Salaries & Turnover Increase
The average hourly rate for registered nurses (RNs) in home health agencies increased 2.98% in 2021, according to the 2021-2022 Home Care Salary & Benefits Report, just released by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS). The report is published in cooperation with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).
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.