Volume 9, Number 50 — July 29, 2020
Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,
If we were to put a headline on the early results from our poll, it would be "Bad News in Store for Landlords." The poll is still open (click here) but early results show a number of you are seriously thinking about downsizing your office space to save rent, and keep some staff working from home in order to facilitate that. If you haven't already, please share your own post-pandemic plans. There are only four questions. Would you give a couple of minutes to help all readers?
HOME HEALTH: CMS published the proposed rule for Calendar Year 2021 and you have until August 31 to submit your comments. Guest author John Reisinger, CPA, went through the proposed rule with a fine toothed comb and offer his analysis of the changes it may bring. He targets for us specific areas of the rule that the entire industry should comment on. Preview: Get used to the term "No-Pay RAP." John's excellent analysis is below, aptly titled "It Is Time to Send CMS Your Comments on 2021 Proposed Rule."
Yes, you are tired of hearing about COVID-19, but CMS keeps sending out updates to its provisions and warnings. There are three separate announcements in this week's CMS News column, including a list of support calls the agency has scheduled for August, targeted to home health and hospice.
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HOME CARE: Staff writer Darcey Trescone spoke with an innovative home care provider in New York who has improved both patient care and caregiver retention by sending his caregivers to advanced training and supplying them with a mobile app. Read about Richard Keller, President of All Metro Health Care in "Building A Stronger Direct Care Workforce Yields Better Outcomes."
Speaking of New York, the state's home care association has made headlines recently. The Home Care Association of New York State was awarded a grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to leverage Selfhelp Community Services’ "Virtual Senior Center," so that every home care provider in the state can make VSC available to their patients.
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VENDOR RELEASES INDUSTRY DATA: PlayMaker Health does a quarterly deep-dive analysis of CMS claims data. The recent release of Q4 2019 data will create a benchmark against which the twin 2020 challenges of PDGM and COVID-19 can be compared. Read about the shrinking number of HHAs, growing influence of Medicare Advantage, and lengthening hospice stays in this week's Vendor Watch column. A CRM company, PlayMaker Health's data is informative well beyond physician referral counts.
We round out this week's issue with a reprint of an appeal by the American Telemedicine Association to Congress to pass the "Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act." It is a bill to keep support for remote patient monitoring going post-COVID-19.
As we approach the dog days of summer, I hope you are taking some time for yourself. After the last seven months, you deserve it.
Have a peaceful, healthy week. Keep making a difference! (And please take a moment to take our survey.)
It Is Time to Send CMS Your Comments on 2021 Proposed Rule
Public comment period expires August 31. Home health financial advisor says, "Let's flood CMS with thoughtful comments."
Vendor Watch: PlayMaker Health Releases Q4 2019 Market Data and Growth Trends
Medicare Advantage enrollment up. Consolidation a growing factor. Hospice admissions may be impacted by Palliative Care.
CMS News: Three Major COVID Updates
— New COVID-19 Data Reveals Impact on Medicare Beneficiaries. Important to all, especially to those serving minority populations, especially Native Americans.
— Home Health QRP COVID-19 PHE Tip Sheet is Available
— COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement Calls — July 27 to August 14
Building A Stronger Direct Care Workforce Yields Better Outcomes
New York HHA increases aide retention, improves patient care by providing aides with training and a mobile app.
ATA Urges Congress to Protect Telehealth Post-COVID
Though it does not mention home care, the ATA issued a statement pushing Congress to pass the "Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act."
State Association Expands "Virtual Senior Center" for NY Home Care Patients
Grant from Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to fund statewide technical expansion of Selfhelp's online VSC platform so home care providers statewide can offer service, connect patients.
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During the 2nd Quarter of 2021, web sites of the above advertisers were visited by home care and hospice executives and staff 5944 times. To inquire about placing your message here, contact: Kristin@rowanresources.com As of this date, approximately 38,478,000 Baby Boomers have become Medicare eligible. |
Last Week's Most-Read Stories:
Overcoming Sales Challenges During the COVID Pandemic
CMS News: Audits to Resume August 3
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FREE WEBINAR: How Technology Enhances Home Care in an Increasingly Remote World *
Sponsored by: Care Connect
Moderator: Tim Rowan
Panelists: Mike Gelman, President COO, CareConnect; Jim Rolla, SVP, VNSYNY Partners in Care; Steve Pellito, SVP, Provider Sales, Sandata
Date: November 12
Time: 1:00 pm EDT
FREE WEBINAR: Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Assess Threats & Reduce Your Risk
Presented by: Netsmart
Featuring: Randy Pargman, Binary Defense senior director of threat hunting and counterintelligence; Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, OPEN MINDS senior associate; and Mike Murray, Netsmart director of Plexus Technologies,
Date: December 9
Time: 1:00 EST
Healthcare organizations are often at risk of cyberattacks due to a lack of dedicated IT and reliance on traditional reactive approaches. To learn how to protect your data, register now to join Randy Pargman, as they map the risk landscape and provide guidance for safeguarding your organization.
Key takeaways:
• Cyber threats in healthcare
• Impacts of a data breach
• Best practices for securing your data
FREE WEBINAR: Can you collect Cash faster?Sponsored by: Savii
Date: Tuesday, January 12
Time: 2:00 pm EST
With small margins in home care it has prompted the question, “Can we collect cash faster?” And what would this do for an agency? One thing we know is margins are small and have become more challenging than ever to for agencies to profit. This doesn’t mean it impossible for agencies to survive; it means a focus on collecting cash faster will be ever so important.
Agency leaders will first need to develop a timeline cadence of when to address claims based on when they were submitted for payment. In addition it will be pertinent to understand their own agency metrics such as DSO (Daily Sales Outstanding) and how they compare to industry standards.
On this webinar you will walk away with how to develop a timeline and your own DSO dashboard for benchmarking. All of these topics will weave into strategic steps to take toward collecting cash flow faster.
FREE WEBINAR: The Rise of Hospital at Home: A Roundtable Discussion
Sponsored by: AlayaCare
Featuring: Dr. Bruce Leff, Hospital at Home Pioneer & Professor, John Hopkins School of Medicine; Adrian Schauer, Founder and CEO
AlayaCare; Joel Theisen, Founder and CEO, Lifesprk; Brady Murphy, VP Sales & Marketing, AlayaCareDate: Wednesday, January 27
Time: 1:00 EST
Information and RegistrationAgenda
Across the U.S., the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative from CMS is taking off amid the pandemic with at least 80 approved participants to date. As hospital-at-home models become more popular and more beneficial to both patients and health care organizations, those that have recognized the perks of home-based care prior to the COVID-19 crisis may have the upper hand.
Join us on Wednesday, Jan 27th at 1:00 pm EST for a roundtable discussion with industry experts such as Dr. Bruce Leff, Hospital at Home Pioneer and Professor at John Hopkins School of Medicine who deserves his reputation as a founding father of this virtual hospital concept, to learn about the hospital-at-home model and its impact on the home care industry.
FREE WEBINAR: 6 New COVID-19 ICD-10 Codes to Learn Webinar
Presented by: Healthcare Synergy
Featuring: Michael Tidd, HealthCare Synergy Clinical ManagerDate: Thursday, February 4
Time: 11:00 - 11:30 PST
COVID-19 has resulted in multiple waivers along with changes to programs and treatments to patients. April 1 had an unexpected release of a new diagnosis code for the COVID-19 disease. October 1 had additional diagnosis codes for agencies to learn and use. January 1, 2021 brings six additional diagnosis codes that CMS released the week of Thanksgiving. These will not be listed in your existing diagnosis coding manuals until a new manual is released later in August.
Objectives:
Michael Tidd has over 19 years of experience in the Home Care Industry and is a frequent speaker at HealthCare Synergy Workshops and Webinars. He is a Software Developer, LVN and Certified in ICD-9/10 Coding and OASIS (COS-C, HCS-D). As the Clinical Manager for HealthCare Synergy, he directs the Outsourced Management Services, assists in directing the development of the Healthcare Assistant Web Edition, oversees the Clinical Documentation Auditing provided to clients and directs the Clinical Form Development for the Healthcare Assistant Web Edition. Michael continues to educate agencies in the ongoing regulations that CMS produces, the proper application of the Medicare Conditions of Participation and completing timely, accurate and defendable clinical documentation to survive in the current Medicare Reimbursement Model.
FREE Webinar: Practical Application of Information Blocking and Interoperability Rules for Post-Acute Care Providers
Sponsored by: Complia Health and Kno2
Date: February 18
Time: 1:00 ESTJoin healthcare technology experts Alan Swenson, VP of Interoperability at Kno2, and Melissa Turner, Director of Integration at Complia Health, on Thursday, February 18th at 1pm Eastern to learn about information blocking and what it means for your post-acute care organization today and looking ahead to the future.
FREE WEBINARS: Virtual Seminar Series
"Building the Bridge to Hospice" and "How to Increase Referrals"
Sponsored by: WellSky
Featuring: Cindy Campbell, Jody Holmes-Dion, Bob Parker, Melanie Stover
Dates: March 2, 16, 30; April 6
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 ESTRegister for one or both webinars
Building the bridge to hospice: Leveraging connections between home health, palliative, and hospice care
Presented by consultants Cindy Campbell and Jody Holmes-Dion of WellSky and Bob Parker of Intrepid USA
CE credit offered – approved for up to 1.25 contact hours
Tuesday, March 2 | Tuesday, March 30Turn up the volume! How to increase referrals in a value-driven market
Presented by Cindy Campbell and sales and marketing expert Melanie Stover of Home Care Sales
Tuesday, March 16 | Tuesday, April 6
FREE WEBINAR: Tech Titans Join Forces to Tackle Post Acute Care Challenges
Sponsored by: KanTime
Featuring: Terra Vicario (Moderator) CMO, Viventium; Malka Trump, Director of Compliance, Viventium; Kristen Duell, EVP, KanTime; Kim Spence, RN, Customer Success Division Leader, KanTime; James Cohen, CEO & Co-Founder, Nevvon
Date: Thursday, April 22
Time: 11:00 am PDT, 2:00 pm EDT
experts from companies with solutions for talent/retention and compliance issues, along with the continued challenges that COVID-19 has presented to our industry,
FREE WEBINAR: New, Science-Based Methodology Reduces Cost of Recruitment and Retention
Presented by: The Rowan Report
Featuring: Eric Becker, CEO, MiliMatch
Date: Thursday, March 18
Time: 3:00 pm EST; Noon PST
Recorded version available soon.
Agenda:
Every time a home care agency hires and trains a new caregiver, it invests about $4,500, which is wasted if that new hire does not work out, often before working a first shift. MiliMatch CEO Eric Becker will explain the company's patented product/service, based on the science of Applied Cognitive Linguistics, which has been proven to help home care agencies avoid those costly bad hires.
Homecare 100 *
Presented by: Lincoln Healthcare Leadership
Date: June 27-30, 2021
Venue: JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, FL
Registration Information
Brave New World: HomeCareCon 32nd Annual Conference & Trade Show
Presented by: Home Care Association of Florida
Date: July 20-23
Venue: Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
NAHC Financial Managers 2021 Conference and Expo *
Presented by: National Association of Home Care and Hospice
Date: August 1-3
Venue: Sheraton Grand Chicago
Information and Registration
Annual Leadership Conference *
Presented by: Home Care Association of America
Date: September 26-27
Location: Hilton Orlando Hotel
This event is your opportunity to learn about current issues, trends, and strategies that will help your organization thrive. ?Throughout the conference, the industry’s leading vendors will be exhibiting their latest efforts to support home care providers across the country. Take this great opportunity to learn the newest competitive strategies, discover cutting-edge technologies and network with key innovators across the home care industry—all in one location.
2021 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo *
National Association for Home Care and Hospice
Date: October 3-5
Venue: New OrleansInformation and Registration available soon at nahc.org
*The Rowan Report will see you there.
Your state or national association meeting or webinar not listed? Send the details to Conferences@RowanResources.com using this format:
Conference Title
Sponsoring Association
Date(s)
Hotel or Conference Center, City, State
URL
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