Home Health & Hospice Week

A copayment for home health is looking more and more likely. Lawmakers negotiating the compromise between the House and Senate Medicare legislation are leaning toward implementing the copay as proposed in the House bill, reports The New York Times. The copay would equal about 1.5 percent of an episode's payment, around $45, the Times says. Industry representatives argue that intensive communication from home care providers still can persuade legislators to forego the copay this year. And many lawmakers already are on record opposing the copay, they add. At press time, conferees were working doggedly toward their self-imposed Oct. 17 deadline for an agreement, but observers doubted the deadline would be met except in the broadest terms. Lawmakers still are far apart on some key sections of the prescription drug provisions in the measure. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will look into whether Medicare home health payments are adequate, staffers revealed in an Oct. 10 meeting. The advisory body to Congress will examine beneficiary access to home care, the rate of agency exit and entry, and access to capital. MedPAC staffers plan to estimate current costs versus payments for the analysis, which will be included in the commission's annual report to Congress in March. The HHS Office of Inspector General has issued three more reports criticizing states' Medicaid drug rebate procedures. The OIG found fault with the drug rebate programs of Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan. Wisconsin and Ohio maintained that at least some of their disputed policies were in compliance, while Michigan concurred with the OIG's findings. In the wake of Operation Wheeler Dealer's crackdown on power wheelchairs and scooters, Hoveround Corp. has announced an agreement with rehab chain HealthSouth Corp. to perform mobility assessment evaluations on Hoveround's clients. "The evaluations are designed to ensure that each client's functional level is compliant with medical guidelines," Sarasota, FL-based Hoveround says in a release. Licensed physical or occupational therapists for Birmingham, AL-based HealthSouth will conduct functional testing and a detailed medical interview. HealthSouth, with 1,700 locations, is currently undergoing a highly publicized health and securities fraud investigation. Heads have rolled at Option Care Inc. as a result of sagging earnings. The Buffalo Grove, IL-based infusion and specialty pharmacy company says it won't meet analysts' estimates for the quarter ending Sept. 30 or its own year-end guidance as a result of lower-than-expected sales. CEO Raj Rai says the lower sales are due in part to sluggish hospital admissions, shorter infusion therapy duration and uncertainty surrounding pending Medicare legislation that would lower Medicare's reimbursement rates for drugs, particularly oncology drugs. To combat the depressed sales figures, Option Care has restructured, including eliminating a number of positions from field administrators to corporate infrastructure, it says. The [...]