Home Health Unions & Overtime Exemptions
In a positive win for agencies, a Federal judge has rule that 5,000 home care workers in New York do not meet the standards for collective bargaining. But within this …
CMS Mandate: emergency preparedness planning
Effective September 9, 2016: Home health and hospice providers must have emergency plans in place to deal with patient care. The new rule, which is going to be phased in …
Pre-claim review has started
We always hope for the best; that the information provided on a new compliance measure will actually be followed. But, we also hold back some hope knowing that the new …
OIG: 500 Agencies on Watch List
A new report issued by the OIG should place some agencies on alarm. The report indicates that claim data from 2014-2015 was used to detect patterns of potential fraud and …
OSHA Fine for Failure to Handle Patient Harassment
Epic Health Services, a national network of agencies across the county, has had an OSHA fine levied against it. The fine stems from Epic’s failure to address complaints by an …
Moratorium Extended and Expanded
CMS has extended the moratorium on certifying new agencies to cover entire states. New agencies will not be allowed to become certified in: Florida Illinois Michigan Texas Previously, only certain …
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt: New Department of Labor Rules
Time tracking in home health and home care has always been up for discussion. Do you use salaried employees, per visit (PRN), or do you pay hourly? Do you pay …
What’s Your Agency’s Challenge?
HealthcareFirst, a software provider to home health and hospice agencies, recently conducted a survey and the results shouldn’t surprise too many agencies. 53% responded that managing overhead and costs …
New Bundles: Cardiac Care
A newly proposed bundled payment model is likely to be making its way to certain areas of the country next year. The new model is centered on the care provided …
Proposed 2017 Rule Updates Value Based Purchasing Model
The pilot program for Value Based Purchasing (VBP) is going to receive some important updates in the proposed 2017 rule. The pilot will affect 9 states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, …