SNF
Hospice General Inpatient Care Focus of New OIG Work Plan Item
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) updated its Work Plan with a new hospice item, Audit of Selected, High-Risk Medicare General Inpatient Services. The Work Plan sets forth various projects including OIG audits and evaluations that are underway or planned to be addressed during the fiscal year and beyond […]
Read MoreRise in Patients Discharged to Home Health
The percentage of patients discharged from short-term acute care hospitals (STACH) to home health has risen from 11 percent in May 2019 to 19 percent one calendar year later, according to a new report from ATI Advisory. The number of patients discharged from STACH declined from over 800,000 patients in May 2019 to 558,296 in […]
Read MoreHome Health Saves Medicare Money Despite Slightly Higher Readmissions than SNFs
The cost advantages of home health care make it less expensive than skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) despite a slightly higher hospital readmission rate, according to a new study by University of Pennsylvania researchers and published last week in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study found that Medicare patients discharged to home health had a 5.6 percent […]
Read MoreMedPAC Calls for Rate Cuts to Home Care and Hospice
On Friday, January 17th, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reconvened for a series of sessions to vote on official recommendations the Commission will make to the U.S. Congress. These follow the December MedPAC meeting where staff presented current data and trends within the Medicare program, then offered proposed recommendations for the Commissioners to consider […]
Read MoreMedPAC Considers Unified Payment Options and Metrics
In the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) latest installment towards the development of a unified post-acute care (PAC) prospective payment system (PPS), commissioners received a presentation on possible outcome measures from MedPAC staff. This presentation was followed by a robust discussion. Rationale on the need to develop measures included the ability to compare metrics across […]
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