Home Health & Hospice Week
Shareholders Dislike Therapy Investigations.
Publicly traded home care companies continue to fight the effects of an investigation into their therapy practices by the Senate Finance Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The probes came after a Wall Street Journal article alleging that the companies changed their therapy utilization in response to Medicare payment incentives. Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys Inc. has issued a 21-page letter to shareholders justifying its practices. The chain's therapy visit numbers "are consistent with standard ranges of therapy utilization in our industry," Amedisys says in the letter. The company's visits "track patient acuity," the chain maintains. And the company's patient population changes from year to year. For instance, from 2007 to 2008, a major acquisition and ramp-up of a falls prevention program affected the types of patients Amedisys took on service. In fact, Amedisys provided therapy above Medicare payment thresholds, the company says. "We simply deliver the care patients need and their doctors prescribe," the letter says. And Atlanta-based Gentiva Health Services Inc. released preliminary earnings figures for the latest quarter, which were positive. Gentiva's whopping $1 billion acquisition of hospice chain Odyssey Healthcare Inc. got postponed, probably because loan investors were skittish following the Senate and SEC probes, press reports suggest.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
HHA Rates Slashed Nearly 5% In 2011 Proposed Rule
Cut for case mix creep shoots up, thanks in large part to therapy utilization changes. [...] - Regulations:
Face-To-Face Rule Brings New Round Of Physician Headaches
Doc must see patient 30 days before or two weeks after start of care -- and [...] - Reimbursement:
Prepare For New Therapy Requirements Under PPS Rule
PPS rule chock full of changes for HHAs. The U.S. Senate and the Securities and [...] - Hospice:
Medicare Rates To Increase 1.8% For Hospices
Hospices face their own face-to-face encounter requirement under HH PPS rule. Starting Oct. 1, your [...] - Industry Notes:
HHAs, Suppliers Top Medicare Improper Payment List
Agencies fail to document claims, CERT finds. Home care providers have an even larger target [...] - HEAT Force Arrests 94
When the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has a big day, it has a very big [...] - Pharmacy Makes Big HIPAA Settlement.
If you've been leaving HIPAA complianceon the back burner, there's a good reason to move [...] - Shareholders Dislike Therapy Investigations.
Publicly traded home care companies continue to fight the effects of an investigation into their [...] - CMS Sinks $2B Into Rebalancing Toward Home
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is putting another $2.25 billion toward keeping Medicare [...] - New Appeals Penalties May Keep RACs In Check
Even though Recovery Audit Contractors are Medicare bounty hunters, a new appeals policy should keep [...] - Rural Add-On Creates Pricer Complications
The two PC Pricers CMS issued for HHAs in June were necessary due to the [...] - Will Your Injection Practices Stand Up To Scrutiny?
Safe injection practices will be a focus of your survey if you're accredited by the [...] - U.K #1 In End-Of-Life Care; U.S. Ranks #9 Of 30
The United Kingdom ranked number one in a new study gauging the quality of end-oflife [...] - New Point Of Origin Codes Confuse HHAs
You're going to have to use your judgment when deciding between new point of origin [...]
