COVID-19 vaccination mandates, pivotal home care deals, palliative care advances. These are a few themes that attracted your attention this past year. With a pandemic still intruding on our daily lives, home care mergers and acquisitions activity whirling, and legislative and regulatory change afoot, this sector had no shortage of compelling material in the last 12 months. With that in mind, here are some of the biggest stories of 2021.
Mandates, mandates, mandates: With the dramatic on-again, off-again developments of the federal mandates, it’s no wonder a few of these stories of late made you sit up and take notice. Among them, the recent decision of a federal court to reinstate the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandate nationwide.
A big deal: LHC Group made some waves this past summer when it purchased Lafayette, LA-based SCP Health. Why? Combined, these companies, which will offer skilled-nursing-facility-at-home and hospital-at-home, have partnerships with 745 hospitals around the country. Talk about changing the landscape.
Palliative care rising: Proponents of palliative care have been pushing for an alternative payment model to cover community-based palliative care. Perhaps that is why stories about how the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation considering such a model attracted so much interest.
Another major move: Another purchase that made people sit up is the August Honor Technology acquisition of Home Instead. Beside the fact that a technology company took over a pivotal home care brand, combined these companies represent more than $2.1 billion in home care services. Needless to say, we’ll be watching.
Tech’s role in alleviating loneliness: A recent series on loneliness made you read — particularly a story about the role of mechanical felines and tablets in addressing the problem.
Other notable stories in 2021:
- Introduction of Choose Home bill In Congress
- Inclusion of Medicaid increase in $1.9 trillion stimulus package
- An enticing vaccination incentive program (hint: it involves a generous gift card)
- Encompass health mulling a sale of its home health and hospice unit
- CNAs sound alarm bells on worker shortage
