McBee CareThreads

The president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) says the performance of these agencies during the pandemic raised their awareness among the public and people in other parts of health care services. As we move through 2023, and further away from the pandemic, home care agencies and hospices are looking to increase their value in the overall home care landscape.

In this episode, NAHC President Bill Dombi talks with Mike Dordick, Netsmart SVP of Post-Acute Strategy, about the current environment, challenges and opportunities for the home care and hospice industry. Listen in as these two healthcare leaders talk about what you need to know as you work through 2023.

Join us as we discuss:

• Solutions to workforce shortages
• The growing Medicare Advantage population
• The impact the new Congress will have on policy and regulation
• Home care expansion
• Dombi’s forecast for the future

If you want to hear more episodes like this one, look for the McBee CareThreads podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or however you listen to your podcasts.

“I would categorize the rule as perfectly fitting of coming out on Halloween. It’s a rule in disguise” says Jeff Aaronson, Senior Director of Advisory Consulting. “In some ways you can look at it and see that it’s positive, we have a 0.7% increase in payments. Or you can look at the other side of the rule, which is more impactful, that CMS actually increased the behavior adjustment from 7.69% to 7.85%” he added.

The Centers of Medicare & Medicaid released the CY 2023 Home Health Final Rule on October 31. Fortunately, the proposed rule provided an adequate look into the future and left little room for surprises. This includes steep payment cuts to home healthcare and the need for continued advocacy as an industry.

Navigating change and ensuring you don't miss a beat will be key as we wrap up 2022. Karen Tibbs, Director of OASIS & Quality hosts a discussion between Jeff Aaronson and Lisa Selman-Holman, Vice President of Education and Quality. Listen in as McBee experts discuss what organizations can expect in 2023 and next steps to prepare.

Learn more on:

• The importance of The Preserving Access to Home Heath Act of 2022
• Behavior adjustment and the potential impacts to payment plans
• The finalization of OASIS-E and the best way to prepare
• The baseline year of Value-Based Purchasing and what's next

“Everyone has the opportunity to move the quality needle forward.”

In this podcast, Jennifer Kennedy, Vice President of Quality & Standards at CHAP, joins Maria Warren to discuss hospice quality performance and improvement programs.

Maria and Jennifer agree that every day is a clean slate for hospice organizations to improve quality and exceed expectations.

Hospice quality measures are quickly advancing and in order to adapt, organizations are developing robust improvement programs to keep up with the evolution of quality reporting. Staff members must find ways to stay proactive, as well as maintain patient satisfaction. Organizations should begin treating quality the same way compliance is handled, but where to begin?

Listen in as we discuss:

• Building an efficient quality improvement program
• Cultivating an environment that values quality with the support of leadership
• Understanding your current state in order to discover areas of opportunities
• Trending and tracking your data against regulatory requirements

As accreditation for assisted living communities continues to expand and find its permanent spot within the healthcare industry, regulators and legislation are finally understanding the value it provides.

Denise Hobson, Program Director at Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), returns to give an update on where accreditation stands today, next steps for operators, and what’s on the horizon.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Idaho, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina are leading the way in Accreditation
• The importance of surveys and quality measures to implement performance improvements
• Building partnership and collaborating with regulators
• Best next steps for your organization

We're still experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and about to go through a contentious presidential election. What does the view of post-acute care look like from Washington, DC?

Al Guida, owner of Guide Consulting Services, joined this episode of Care Threads to talk about the political landscape as he sees it and how it is affecting the post-acute care industry.

What we discussed with Al:

- What stopped in DC when COVID happened

- How the DC landscape might change in 2021

- Al's thoughts on Medicaid and human services spending

This discussion with Al Guida was taken from our show McBeeCare Threads. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts here.

If you don’t use Apple Podcasts, you can find every episode here.

This podcast was recorded on Sept. 24, 2020