New Five-Star Rating System Released for Home Health Agencies – On July 16, 2015, CMS released a new five-star rating system for home health agencies, applying the new quality measure to over 9,000 agencies based on whether visits began quickly and on the rate of patient improvement. Nearly half of the agencies evaluated received average scores, and 28 percent received below-average ratings.  Eventually, CMS will pay bonuses and impose penalties for agencies based on performance.  For comprehensive data and detailed ratings, click here.  CMS’s press release is available here, and the fact sheet is available here.

Congress Extends Home Care Demonstration – Congress recently passed a bill to extend Medicare’s “Independence at Home Medical Practice” demonstration project an additional two years, through 2017.  The project focuses on home care delivered by physicians and nurse practitioners and is underway in 14 states.  The bill (S. 971) now goes to President Obama for signature.