Lawmakers blast federal efforts to monitor and police Medicare fraud -- again
Lawmakers again hammered the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Medicare program integrity contractors Friday. The latest salvos were fueled by an agency admission that additional mistakes had been made. Read More
Medicaid audit contractors lag behind Medicare counterparts, federal officials admit
Federal officials acknowledged in a House hearing Thursday that Medicaid's recovery contractors have not been as successful as their Medicare counterparts in detecting fraud and recovering overpayments. Read More
Older People Often Get Final Care in EDs
June 7, 2012 — Half of the people who died during a longitudinal study of older adults visited the emergency department (ED) at least once during the last month of life, 77% were subsequently hospitalized, and 68% of those hospitalized died in the hospital, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.
In contrast, people who entered hospice care at least a month before dying rarely visited EDs. Read More
Affordable Care Act designates $52 million to help disabled, veterans avoid nursing homes
Additional government funding is being distributed for a program to keep seniors, disabled individuals and the veterans in their homes, and out of institutionalized long-term care facilities. Read More
What's to blame for health data breaches: Tech or culture?
Panelists participating in a discussion on technology and its potential for patient harm at the Second Annual International Summit on the Future of Health Privacyin Washington, D.C. yesterday pondered whether complex--and often conflicting--privacy policies were to blame. Read More
Healthcare jobs not slowing down
Home Health Services added 6,900 jobs in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Healthcare continues to be one of the bright spots in national employment. Although the unemployment rate across industries remains at 8.2 percent, healthcare jobs continue an upward trend, while other industries remained unchanged, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Read More
5.6 million health workers needed by 2020: study
A new study predicts that the U.S. economy will need 5.6 million more healthcare workers in the next eight years and most of the workers will need to have a postsecondary education or training.
Read More
Blogs
QI-Tip of the Month: Try It On Before You Buy It
Posted on May 31, 2012 by Champ CommunityM. Tags: CHAMP Resources, Effective Management, Health Literacy, QI/QA, Small Test of Change, Teach Back
The last time I went shopping with a friend, we were in Chicago, on the Miracle Mile. Anne had me try on things that I NEVER would have taken off the rack myself, and even talked me into buying some of them. You know what? I’ve worn all but one item to shreds. One became my new “uniform” at home. Read More
Extreme Couponing, Senior Living Style
Posted on June 05, 2012 in Featured-writers Newswire by Michelle Seitzer of SeniorsforLiving.com
TLC’s Extreme Couponing tells me this: American consumers are crazy about getting the best deals.
They should be, considering that costs are forever on the rise, causing us to cut back, trim fat, and tighten up on expenses wherever possible.
Funny how coupons don’t cover the most expensive things though, like the monthly rent at a senior living community or the hourly rate for the home care aide you hired to help Mom and Dad around the house. In fact, contrary to popular belief, even Medicare doesn’t cover these costs (at least not in full). Read More
Copyright © 2011 Home Care Software Solutions. All rights reserved.
For our Florida Agencies: 
A friendly reminder - beginning October 1st through October 15th, all licensed home health agencies (no exceptions) must submit a quarterly report to the Agency for Health Care Administration. Agencies that do not submit the report by October 15th will be assessed a $5,000 fine.
By law, home health agencies must report the following information based on the agency's patient census as of Sept. 30th:
- Number of insulin-dependent diabetic patients receiving insulin injection services
- Number of patients receiving home health services from the home health agency AND a licensed hospice provider
- Total number of patients receiving home health services
- The names and license numbers of nurses (RN's or LPN's) whose primary job responsibility is to provide home health services to patients and received remuneration in excess of $25,000 for the three months of the quarter
According to AHCA, the quarterly report has been instrumental in helping combat fraud and abuse in our industry. For more information and instructions for submitting the report, click here to access the AHCA website.
AHCA is primarily responsible for the state's $21.2 billion Medicaid program that serves 3 million Floridians, the licensure of the state's 41,000 health care facilities and the sharing of health care data through the Florida Center for Health Information and Policy Analysis.
If you have any questions, please call the AHCA Home Care Unit at (850) 412-4403.
Copyright © 2011 Home Care Software Solutions. All rights reserved.