Exploring Age-Friendly Healthcare Programs

The Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) has launched two new specialty credentials for organizations providing home care and/or hospice.  These programs are in line with the Age-Friendly Health Systems (Care) programs and initiatives started by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and … Read more

TEAM Model and Post-Acute Care

The mandatory Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) will advance CMS prior work on value-based care models, including bundled care initiatives. The TEAM model (participation) will be mandatory for selected hospitals and participation “optional” for post-acute care providers. Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) | CMS The Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) is set to be a … Read more

Friday Feature: Back to the Future and Care Rounds

TGIF! A frequent reader sent me a note earlier in the week and asked if I would drop in more clinically oriented stuff from time to time. I asked for details, and she said stuff “that is germane to patient care and operational improvements – QA/QI stuff”. So, today’s post is by request, sort of. … Read more

Medicare, DOJ, Fraud and the Eclipse?

Happy Eclipse Monday! The post title is meant as a bit of fun but there is a bit of relevancy as well. Billing fraud occurs via a process of hiding what actually has transpired (or should have) with the care of a patient. The most typical fraud is overbilling or charging the government for care … Read more

Analyzing the 2023 Cost of Care Survey: Trends in Long-Term Care Rate Increases

On Tuesday, the Genworth 2023 Cost of Care Survey was released. Year-over-year rate increases in long-term care/senior living ranged from 1% to 10%, depending on the setting (SNF, Assisted Living, etc.). The report is available here: Genworth Cost of Care 2023 The report is interesting though in some ways, a bit misleading as data is … Read more

The Hidden Factor Impacting Consumer Sentiment: Exploring Borrowing Costs

Today’s post is rather short by comparison to others. It is an adjunct to yesterday’s post regarding the credit market status for senior living and post-acute providers. Readers/followers that read the post will note that I included a fair amount of economic discussion, including some Federal Reserve minutes, to frame where I think rates and … Read more

Unlocking the Potential: Overcoming Challenges for LTPAC Providers in ACO Participation

Yesterday, the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living plus the National Assocation of ACOs released a white paper that includes a set of recommendations for CMS, designed to increase the participation of long term and post-acute care (LTPAC) providers in accountable care organizations (ACOs).  The white paper is available here: AHCA … Read more

Wednesday Feature: Navigating the Evolving Landscape – Enhancing Ethics and Compliance Programs for Risk Mitigation

Happy Hump Day! Long title for what is going to be, a rather brief post.  As followers and regular readers know, my firm (I am the co-founder and part owner) H2 Healthcare, LLC has a practice area uniquely concentrated on clinical compliance and complex litigation support.  The practice area is headed by Diane Hislop, RN (yes, … Read more

Unraveling the Puzzle: Tackling Fragmented Healthcare for Better Patient Outcomes

An issue that I have been interested in for most of my career is coordinated care, especially in terms of older adults who utilize the most care resources and typically, have multiple providers (physicians in particular). Fragmented, uncoordinated care is the primary driver of over-treatment or inefficient treatment. The outcomes of over-treatment include polypharmacy, test … Read more

Record Bankruptcies in Health Care in 2023

As the economy continued to struggle through a high inflationary cycle with restrictive Federal Reserve policy in-place to curb inflation, providers struggled to stay afloat in the turbulent economic waters. Significant financial headwinds in 2023 have only modestly abated at the start of 2024. Labor supply issues (shortages) of direct care staff (other disciplines as well) … Read more