Articles by Tom Threlkeld
Care at Home News Review
Read on for the Alliance’s regular round-up of important home care, home health, hospice, and palliative care stories from around the country. National Alliance for Care at Home Taps Experienced Post-Acute Veteran As New COO The National Alliance for Care at Home’s (the Alliance) leadership team is rounding into form. Sherl Brand – who has […]
Read MoreReminder: MA VBID for Hospice Ends This Month
In March 2024, CMS announced the conclusion of the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Hospice Benefit Component as of December 31, 2024. In August CMS published technical and operational guidance for providers participating in the model. As the end of this month draws near, the Alliance would like to remind hospices of the procedures to follow for MA […]
Read MoreAct Now to Save Telehealth!
“Telehealth Not Safe: In the midst of much speculation, we must be clear: no bill has passed Congress to extend current telehealth flexibilities for hospice and home care providers. While a bill text was released earlier this week containing those extensions, that bill has not moved. There is no agreement on that text or timeline […]
Read MoreOIG Issues MA Plan Fraud Alert
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has issued a Special Fraud Alert warning about certain marketing schemes involving the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. These schemes involve questionable payments and referrals between Medicare Advantage plans, health care professionals ( HCPs) , and third-party marketers such as agents and brokers. The Special […]
Read MoreMACPAC Summary, Part 2
On Friday, commissioners addressed several other HCBS-specific items. One session, ‘HCBS Spending and Utilization,’ focused on HCBS spending and utilization by demographic characteristics, taxonomy categories, and long-term services and supports (LTSS) subpopulations. This analysis examined data spanning 2019 to 2021 from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS), providing an update to MACPAC’s 2017 HCBS […]
Read MoreMACPAC Summary, Part 1
On December 12-13, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) held their monthly convening. Several sessions were of relevance to the home care community, including managed care oversight, self-direction in home and community-based services (HCBS), findings from an extensive analysis of HCBS spending and utilization patterns, and findings on Medicaid payment policies that […]
Read MoreMedPAC Recommends 7% Reduction in Home Health Payments, No Increase in Hospice Payments
On December 13, 2024, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened to assess, among other things, payment adequacy for home health and hospice services. The sessions addressed access, quality, financial performance, and draft recommendations to adjust Medicare base payment rates. Included below are the highlights from each session. Note that MedPAC is an advisory body […]
Read MoreThe Alliance Has a New Phone System
As part of the process of integrating legacy NAHC and NHPCO into the National Alliance for Care at Home, we have a new phone system to better serve our members, as of Monday, December 16, 2024. While menu options will sound slightly different, there have been no changes to organizational or staff phone numbers. And, of […]
Read MoreCMS Proposes Changes to Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the Contract Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) and the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program (Part D) proposed rule. CMS proposes several changes to these programs with the intent to hold MA and Part D plans more accountable for delivering high-quality coverage, and builds on CMS’ work […]
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