Home Health & Hospice Week

Court says chronic care should not be barred from the benefit, as long as there's a skilled need. A decision by a Vermont federal court could result in more Medicare patients on your rolls -- eventually. Vermont Medicare beneficiary Sandra An-derson sued the Department of Health and Hu-man Services over its so-called "stability presumption," which says "coverage is automatically denied for patients whose conditions are stable during the covered period," notes the ruling filed Oct. 25 in Anderson v. Sebelius. Background: Anderson received care for six episodes following a second stroke and hospital stay, the ruling notes. For all but the initial post-hospital episode, Medicare denied therapy and other skilled services for not being reasonable and necessary. The Administrative Law Judge and Medicare Appeals Council upheld the decision. Holding the bag: However, Anderson was not on the hook for the episodes. Instead, her home health agency, the Visiting Nurse Association [...]