Are unpaid, untrained family caregivers ready to take on the responsibility of overseeing a critically ill person at home — even with backup from visiting clinicians?
The government’s recent proposed rule that would cut Medicare payments to home health agencies by 2.2% in 2024. By law, the new system can’t cost more or less than it otherwise would have, but Medicare reinforced this year that it had “paid more under the new system than it would have under the old system” — and thus continued cuts to home health for next year. NAHC, the home health industry's lobbying group, said in its lawsuit that Medicare has been violating the requirement to keep things "budget-neutral" and threatens to put home health operators out of business.
State Medicaid agencies are urging federal regulators to give them more flexibility to determine how home health and other direct care workers are compensated. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in May proposed that a minimum of 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker services, home health aide services, and personal care services go directly to pay workers. The remaining 20% goes to pay for overhead and administrative costs. The Medicaid proposed rule aims to increase access to care by addressing home- and community-based care workforce shortages due to low pay.
Countryside Health Care Center announced Thursday that due to financial pressures, it will be closing within the next 60 days. It is the 26th Iowa nursing home to announce its closing since June 2022. Earlier this year, state inspectors cited Countryside for violations related to four resident deaths. By the time state inspectors investigated in April, the home had compiled a backlog of 19 complaints awaiting investigation by the state.
Ohio is looking to increase nursing home oversight in the state while stiffening the penalties for ones who treat patients poorly. The state’s new two-year budget dedicates an additional $1.4 billion to increase the quality of care in nursing homes, the governor’s office says. The budget includes money to “dramatically” increase the number of inspectors in the state to “make sure people are living with dignity in high quality and safe environments,” Gov. Mike DeWine said.