by Kristin Rowan | Mar 22, 2025 | CMS, Editorial, Medicare Advantage, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor MedPAC Comments on CY 2026 MedPac Sends Recommendations to Congress MedPAC makes recommendations to Congress and HHS on issues affecting the Medicare program. The March report for 2025 includes recommendations for hospice, home health, and...
by Kristin Rowan | Mar 13, 2025 | Advocacy, CMS, Outcomes, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Underlying Causes of Health Issues Underlying causes of health issues are common. Not all health issues come directly from infections, medical conditions, or genetics. Lifestyle, environmental factors, and social determinants can cause and/or...
by Kristin Rowan | Mar 13, 2025 | Advocacy, CMS, Medicare Advantage, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Update Last week, we reached out to some of our contacts for responses to this change. Former President of NAHC and current Senior Counsel at Arnall Golden Gregory Bill Dombi said: It is difficult to discern the impact of the rescission of the...
by Kristin Rowan | Mar 7, 2025 | Clinical, Hospice, Medicare Advantage, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Palliative Care for Medicare Advantage Members Cancer is one of the highest leading causes of death in the United States, second only to heart disease. The challenges for cancer patients are not only physical, but emotional and financial as...
by Kristin Rowan | Mar 7, 2025 | Clinical, CMS, Medicare Advantage, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Easier Access to Home Health Prior authorization requirements can be cumbersome, delaying or even preventing care in some cases. Patients who need prior authorization to get he care they need also generally have form after form to fill out or...
by Kristin Rowan | Mar 7, 2025 | Advocacy, Breaking News, CMS, Medicare Advantage, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Public Participation Rescinded The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires that an agency public a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register; allow sufficient time for public participation via written data, views, or arguments;...
by Kristin Rowan | Feb 27, 2025 | Admin, Caregiver Safety, Caring for the Caregiver, Clinical
by Kristin Rowan, Editor We’ve published and talked a lot about caregiver safety, lone worker safety, and keeping your caregivers safe. Until the risk of violence to care at home workers is 0%, we will continue to provide this information and urge you to...
by Kristin Rowan | Feb 20, 2025 | Advocacy, CMS, Hospice, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Special Focus Program Not Well Received When the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) first appeared, the industry was told the program would help CMS identify and improve the performance of hospice providers that were struggling to meet...
by Kristin Rowan | Feb 14, 2025 | Admin, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor CMS 2026 Updates to Prescription Plan The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), released a draft of the calendar year 2026 redesign program instructions. The new provisions...
by Kristin Rowan | Feb 6, 2025 | Breaking News, Regulatory
by Kristin Rowan, Editor Medicaid Payment System Goes Dark On Monday, January 27, President Trump, through the Office of Management and Budget, announced a temporary freeze on federal spending while his newly designated head of the Department of Government Efficiency...
