Amedisys Chairman and CEO Paul Kusserow forecast more favorable home health rate increases beyond 2023. Kusserow told investors during a JP Morgan conference late Monday he thinks the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Congress have a better understanding of home health’s value, which potentially could translate into a healthier rate increase than the 0.7% the industry received for 2023.
“We’re thinking that it won’t be 0.7%; it will be slightly better than that,” Kusserow told the audience.
Last year, CMS increased 2023 Medicare rates to agencies a scant 0.7% but also phased in half of a 7.85% behavioral adjustment cut to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), which translates to a loss of $635 million to home health providers for 2023.
Kusserow said conversations he has had with both CMS and Congress about the value of home health and the necessity for higher rates in a time of increased demand for in-home is bearing fruit.
“I anticipate we are going to have a good fight on our hands this year with home health, but I think we’ll come out of it quite well and after that it looks really good in terms of us looking at reimbursement growth,” Kusserow continued.
Labor crisis abating?
He also was positive about the workforce situation. While labor shortage continues to plague the healthcare industry, Kusserow said the problem could be abating as fears of a possible recession are forcing some sidelined nurses back into the workforce. Indeed, the latest numbers by the Bureau of Labor Statistics bear that out. In the final month of 2022, The healthcare industry added 55,000 jobs.
Still, Kusserow said Amedisys is continuing to make labor a priority by incentivizing local managers with bonuses if they can reduce turnover and by tapping part-time workers with more flexible scheduling.
“We have not optimized that pool,” Kusserow admitted. “We think there is a lot of potential to bring these folks and incentivize them. That will occur when we have more flexible scheduling.”
