Within the first 12 months that really felt “post-COVID,” residence care suppliers noticed no scarcity of challenges.

As an alternative, residence well being suppliers noticed one other 12 months marked by cost challenges in 2023, with each the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies (CMS) and Medicare Benefit (MA) plans experiencing declines.

In the meantime, residence care suppliers have been nonetheless fighting excessive billing charges on the non-public facet. On the Medicaid facet, residence and group service suppliers confronted some rosy fee will increase, but in addition some regulatory considerations with a proposed wage mandate provision from CMS.

However in a 12 months with traditionally low merger and acquisition quantity, transactions in residence care made the information greater than ever.

Mirror on this 12 months in residence care by revisiting 10 of HHCN's most-read tales.

1. Optum lures Amedisys away from Choice Care Well being with a $3.3 billion money deal (June 26)

The sale of Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) – one of many nation's largest residence well being care suppliers – remains to be pending. However the saga made most of the headlines on HHCN in 2023.

First, Choice Care Well being (Nasdaq: OPCH) agreed to accumulate the supplier, hoping it may create an “end-to-end” continuum in-house. Finally, UnitedHealth Group's Optum lured Amedisys away with an all-cash deal.

2. LHC Group and Optum deal closes value $5.4 billion (February 22)

Optum's acquisition of LHC Group – one other of the nation's largest residence care suppliers – was one of many high tales in 2022. Nonetheless, it remained a high story in 2023 because the deal closed in February.

If Optum manages to finish the cope with Amedisys, it can have about 10% of the house care market.

3. Rumors are circulating a couple of doable mixture of Cigna Group and Humana (November 28)

This high story was all for nothing. Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) and Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) have been in discussions to merge, however finally couldn’t agree on a good value.

Humana was additionally linked to Walmart (NYSE: WMT), but it surely's unclear whether or not these talks have progressed.

Finally, if Humana – proprietor of CenterWell House Well being, additionally one of many largest residence well being care suppliers – is acquired, it will definitely be one of many largest residence well being care tales of 2024.

4. CMS Completes 0.8% House Care Fee Enhance for 2024, Extra PDGM Cuts (November 1st)

CMS first proposed a 2.2% reduce in residence care funds for the 12 months 2024 in June, however finally settled on a paltry 0.8% improve in whole funds.

Suppliers stay dissatisfied with CMS' fee reductions, which have been nonetheless included within the closing rule regardless of the wage improve.

“You instantly really feel slightly sigh of aid as an operator simply because we anticipated the total proposed reduce,” Summer season Napier, CEO of Therapeutic Palms Healthcare, mentioned of the rule. “However the additional you learn, you assume: that is nonsense. I'm not going to simply accept this till 2025 and past. It's not occurring. ''

5. Humana's CenterWell will take over the House Well being trilogy (April 24)

CenterWell House Well being acquired Florida-based Trilogy House Well being in April, marking one of many supplier's first main successes beneath Humana possession.

HHCN had unique rights to the deal, which added 11 places to CenterWell's residence care portfolio.

6. Particulars are rising round House Well being Titan April Anthony's new enterprise, VitalCaring (February 2)

April Anthony, former CEO of the house well being and hospice division of Embody Well being (NYSE: EHC), wasn't away from the trade for lengthy.

Early within the 12 months, particulars lastly emerged about her new enterprise, VitalCaring, which is funded by Anthony, The Vistria Group and Nautic Companions.

The house care and hospice firm has grown considerably in its first 12 months.

7. The possibly severe long-term penalties of the closure of residence care companies (January seventeenth)

The variety of residence care establishments has slowly decreased over the previous ten years.

In recent times, companies have been closed on account of fee cuts and MA penetration. This text describes a few of these tales and likewise explains the that means of these closures.

8. Honor is shedding 15% of its headquarters employees, together with long-time distant staff (June 27)

In June, Honor — the house care expertise firm that owns House As an alternative — introduced it will lay off 15% of its headquarters employees, together with many longtime House As an alternative workers.

9. CD&R-backed Gentiva agrees to accumulate ProMedica's residence care and hospice property for $710 million (February 27)

When Humana acquired Kindred at House to create CenterWell House Well being, the house well being and hospice property have been divested. These property modified to Gentiva.

Gentiva – which has made palliative care a serious focus – made its first large leap with the $710 million acquisition of ProMedica's residence care and hospice property.

10. New CMS dementia care mannequin opens doorways of alternative for residence care suppliers (July 31)

CMS introduced a brand new dementia care mannequin this 12 months – the GUIDE mannequin – that has excited residence care suppliers throughout the nation.

Over the following decade, caregivers can have the chance to be paid by the federal government to assist look after dementia sufferers throughout the nation.