Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare to Cease Operation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:           Elyssa Katz
571-281-0220

Thomas Threlkeld
202-547-7424
communications@allianceforcareathome.org

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare Combines Efforts with Alliance

WASHINGTON, D.C., JANUARY 17, 2025. The Board of Directors of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) plans to cease operations of the organization effective March 1, 2025. Moving forward, the PQHH Board of Directors will combine efforts with the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance). 

Advocacy

By establishing a unified and robust industry voice through the Alliance, the PQHH Board of Directors hopes to advance the public policy and regulatory issues affecting the home health community’s shared vision of a healthcare system that fully recognizes the essential role of home health in delivering compassionate and value-driven care.

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare The Alliance

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“We have the deepest gratitude for all who have served this organization and championed PQHH’s mission, especially our Chief Executive Officer Joanne Cunningham, who has expertly managed and successfully driven PQHH’s agenda and advocacy for nearly 7 years. Joanne’s commitment to this sector and expertise in planning and executing federal advocacy is unmatched in the home health community and will continue to have a positive, lasting impact on our industry and our patients.”

David Baiada

Chairman, Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare

PQHH History

Since its founding in 2010, PQHH has been dedicated to ensuring access to high-quality home healthcare for all Americans. Throughout its history, PQHH has maintained an unwavering focus on this mission, including in this pivotal moment.

“Through the work of the Partnership and the Alliance, the Medicare home health community has forged strong relationships in Congress and with CMS that have well positioned the sector for future success, and which we look forward to building upon in the future. With a unified industry voice, we can continue to educate the policy community on the importance of care at home to American families.”

Dr. Steven Landers, MD, MPH

Chief Executive Officer, National Alliance for Care at Home

The PQHH Board of Directors’ decision to combine efforts with the Alliance follows careful consideration of the current state of home health policy, the post-election political landscape, and significant industry developments.

“By combining efforts with the Alliance, we look forward to strengthening the unity and resources of our sector,” added Baiada.

“The Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Care at Home unanimously supports the decision by PQHH to align efforts and resources with the Alliance to further unify our industry. The core of our vision underlying the merger with NHPCO has always been to create a community where all care-at-home stakeholders can invest the time, energy and resources necessary to produce the results required to secure our places in the continuum of health care in America. We are beyond pleased that PQHH leaders share in this vision. It is not trite to assert that we will be stronger together.”

Ken Albert

Board Chair, The Alliance

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About the National Alliance for Care at Home

The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) is a new national organization representing providers of home care, home health, hospice, palliative care, and other health care services mainly delivered in the home. The Alliance brings together two organizations with nearly 90 years of combined experience: NAHC and NHPCO. NAHC and NHPCO are in the process of combining operations to better serve members and lead into the future of care offered in the home. Learn more at www.AllianceForCareAtHome.org

©2025 National Alliance for Care at Home. This press release originally appeared on The Alliance website and is reprinted on The Rowan Report with permission.

2025 Final Rule

by Kristin Rowan, Editor

CMS Releases Home Health Final Rule 2025

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) final rule. Included in the final rule are updates the Medicare payment policies and rates for Home Health Agencies (HHAs), intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) items, and payment rates for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) suppliers. Estimates indicate that CMS payments to HHAs will increase by 0.5% over 2024.

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare issued a press release in response to the final rule.

[We] were again disappointed that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continued its policy of cuts by finalizing a -1.975 percent permanent cut to home health.

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare

The Partnership urged Congress to intervene to “fix the broken payment system” that continues making payment rate cuts year after year. The cuts are reducing patient access. According to recent data, patient visits per 30 days are down nearly 20 percent. The partnership notes workforce shortages, capacity limitations, and closures of providers as the primary reasons behind the decline in patient visits. 

Legislative Action

As we have reported previously, a number of organizations have worked together to advocate for home health with members of Congress. NAHC and NHPCO (Now The National Alliance for Care at Home), The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare, and others, have proposed bipartisan legislation, the Preserving Access to Home Health Act (S. 2137/H.R. 5159).

NAHC last year filed a lawsuit claiming that CMS used flawed formulae in their calculations of budget-neutrality. That lawsuit has been paused while NAHC/NHPCO follow administrative processes required by the judge. Once those administrative paths are exhausted, The Alliance will look at next steps to continue their objections to the pay cuts. The overturning of “Chevron Deference” will open new avenues for The Alliance as well.

CMS Facts

CMS published its Final Rule Fact Sheet after the issuance of the final rule for CY 2025. According to the fact sheet, the 2025 rule:

    • Finalizes a permanent prospective adjustment of -1.975% (half of the calculated permanent adjustment of -3.95%) to the CY 2025 home health payment rate to account for the impact of implementing the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM)
    • Includes the final CY 2025 home health payment update of 2.7%
    • Adds an estimated 1.8% decrease to reflect the permanent behavior adjustment
    • Also has an estimated 0.4% decrease that reflects the updated FDL

This yields an aggregated 0.5% increase in payment rates over 2024. 

Increase=Decrease

Despite the overall 0.5% increase in payment rates, PQHH, The Alliance, and many other organizations see this as a drastic pay cut. The increase will not account for inflation, higher operating costs, or any other adjustments. These organizations continue to call upon you to contact your Senators and Representatives as well as to support them in their ongoing efforts with the bipartisan bills and the lawsuit. 

CMS Proposed Rule CY 2025

Ongoing Updates

The information in the 2025 final rule is still being analyzed and is further complicated by the change in leadership at the national and local levels after this week’s election. Please see our Upcoming Events section on the website for several webinars discussing these issues. The Rowan Report will continue to bring additional insights as they become available.

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Kristin Rowan, Editor
Kristin Rowan, Editor

Kristin Rowan has been working at Healthcare at Home: The Rowan Report since 2008. She has a master’s degree in business administration and marketing and runs Girard Marketing Group, a multi-faceted boutique marketing firm specializing in event planning, sales, and marketing strategy. She has recently taken on the role of Editor of The Rowan Report and will add her voice to current Home Care topics as well as marketing tips for home care agencies. Connect with Kristin directly kristin@girardmarketinggroup.com or www.girardmarketinggroup.com

©2024 by The Rowan Report, Peoria, AZ. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in Healthcare at Home: The Rowan Report. One copy may be printed for personal use: further reproduction by permission only. editor@therowanreport.com