Home Health & Hospice Week

Publicly traded home care companies are seeing bigger and bigger revenues, but that may not translate into bigger profits.

Gentiva Health Services Inc. announced a big jump in revenues for the quarter ended April 2. The Melville, NY-based giant reported $243.2 million in revenues, compared to $207.1 million in revenues for the year-ago quarter, prior to its Healthfield Group acquisition. But Gentiva net income grew from $4.1 million to just $4.4 million during the time period.

The large jump in revenues but not profits mirrors Amedisys Inc.'s recent earnings report after acquiring Housecall Medical Resources Inc. last year.

The Baton Rouge, LA-based regional chain's net income grew slightly from $7.1 million to $7.3 million in the latest quarter, while its revenues jumped from $70.4 million to $127.2 million (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XV, No. 18).

Louisville, KY-based Almost Family Inc. bucked the trend, reporting net income of $911,740 for the quarter ended March 31, compared to $559,062 for the same period last year. During the same period, revenues for the Caretenders parent grew from $18.3 million to $20.8 million. • Home health agencies' requests for anticipated payment (RAPs) will be exempt from the across-the-board Medicare payment hold slated for Sept. 22 to Sept 30 this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services confirms in May 5 Transmittal No. 940 (CR 5047). The hold also doesn't apply to cost report settlement and other non-claim payments, the transmittal says.

Contractors must date and pay held claims, including home health final claims, Oct. 2, CMS instructs in the transmittal. • Durable medical equipment suppliers doing business in Washington state may soon be subject to a new tax. A decision announced May 2 by a state appeals court defines Medicare beneficiaries who use DME as "buyers" of the equipment. As such, they are subject to the state's sales tax on such items, according to the court.

The decision has a direct affect on DME suppliers, says the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington, Division II. That's because the court holds that vendors are liable to the state's Department of Revenue for taxes on DME sales even if they did not collect the tax from Medicare beneficiaries (Aaro Medical Supplies Inc. v. Washington, Wash. Ct. App., No. 32486-5, 5/1/06).
 
The decision affirms an earlier determination that state code requires a vendor to remit sales tax to the revenue department. • Vermont's certificate of need issues for HHAs still aren't quite settled. The Vermont Assembly of Home Health Agencies on May 10 appealed to the state Supreme Court a state regulatory decision to grant a CON to Winooski-based Professional Nurse Service Inc., according to the Associated Press.

VAHHA argued that the state's reasoning for granting the CON was faulty [...]