STAT+: Home health providers sue Medicare over payment cuts, despite near record profits
The home health industry lobbying group is suing Medicare over new payment cuts. But profits in the sector remain near all-time highs.
The National Association of Home Care and Hospice sued the Biden administration to halt the government’s recent proposed rule that would cut Medicare payments to home health agencies by 2.2% in 2024.
Since 2020, Medicare has updated its system for how it pays for home health, in particular by basing payments less on how much therapy someone is getting at home. 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. But one thing NAHC failed to mention: Profits in the home health industry remain near all-time highs.
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