Home Health Programs : Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways from CMS’ Proposed $310M Boost for Home Health Programs
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Key Takeaways from CMS’ Proposed $310M Boost for Home Health Programs
This also reflects the home health payment updates announced by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that mandated a whopping $330 million increase as part of the home health payment update plan.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced its FY 2022 Home Health Value-based Purchasing plan—setting the stage for expanding home health programs. This blog encapsulates the essence of the 387-page proposal—giving you a quick snapshot of what’s coming, and the strategic ways to plan your virtual care programs.
The Home Health Value-based programs have been through a paradigm shift in the wake of the global pandemic. Global insurance providers, including the public and the private payers have been quick to adopt Home Health Value-based Programs as they witness their transformative impact on the healthcare landscape.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed the calendar year 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System rate update by increasing home health Medicare payments by a staggering $310M or 1.7%.
This also reflects the home health payment updates announced by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that mandated a whopping $330 million increase as part of the home health payment update plan.
Along with the proposed Home Health Value-based Purchasing (HHVBP) model expansion, CMS has made several other announcements to support home infusion therapies, Hospital beyond walls, Remote Patient Monitoring solutions and other virtual healthcare models.
The proposed rule encapsulates various aspects of improving healthcare, including addressing concerns like policy solutions, and enhancing Medicare/Medicaid reports. Furthermore, the proposed plan also seeks to improve patient access to quality healthcare among people in remote areas, minority groups who are most likely to be highly impacted by poverty and inequality.
The CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) created the Value-based program in early 2016—to determine if value-based reimbursements from Medicare would improve the quality of care and health outcomes, especially in the virtual and home healthcare setting.
According to the CMS report, this value-based home care model has resulted in an average 4.6% improvement in home health agencies’ care quality and an average annual savings of $141 million to Medicare.
What’s more, both public and private insurance providers are witnessing a transformative impact of virtual care in the face of the pandemic—and are increasingly adopting home healthcare programs to mitigate costs—while also improving operational and clinical efficiencies.
A home health program for instance helps prevent unnecessary or frequent Emergency Room (ER) visits. Patient-physician collaboration and health monitoring happen in real-time through telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) platforms,preventing potential ER visits and hospital stays.
It is also critical that these telemedicine programs—seamlessly integrate next-gen digital, automation and IoT strategies to streamline workflows, maximize efficiencies and optimize health outcomes.
The CY 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) proposed rule: Nationwide Expansion of HHVBP Model
CMMI director finds mixed results for bundled payments, gives high marks to global budgets
Download the Proposed Rule from the Federal Register
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