Palliative care is an evolving field. Though long-established as a medical specialty, these health care services have yet to reach their full potential due to reimbursement pressures, poor awareness and staffing headwinds. However, in recent years palliative care has been gaining ground, as more payers, providers and patients begin to realize what these services can […]
Contessa Health
Led by co-founder and CEO Travis Messina, Contessa Health became an innovator in the palliative care arena, with the company’s success reflected in its multiple health system joint ventures. Messina – who left the Contessa CEO role this spring – is now looking to replicate that success elsewhere. The Franklin, Tennessee-based Regent Surgical Health announced […]
The hospice space — and the health care system at large — is in a state of flux, driven by value-based reimbursement models, an expanding home-based care continuum and industry-changing transactions. Halfway through the year, Hospice News’ “Four Providers to Watch,” exemplifies the ways that hospice operators are trying to not only to keep up […]
The rationale behind Option Care Health’s (NASDAQ: OPCH) $3.6 billion acquisition of Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is built on four pillars — vastly expanded scale, value-based payment, data collection capabilities and a desire to outpace a rapidly evolving health care environment. As Amedisys Chairman Paul Kusserow said in a February earnings call, “Change creates opportunities.” […]
Hospices are blazing trails toward growth, each provider with its own range of strategies. In 2023, the focus for many is to not only expand their core business but to spread further into the care continuum. Others are traveling a more traditional route, through de novos and acquisitions, though some are modifying their approaches in […]
As Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) sees a changing of the guard in its C-suite, the company will not be slowing down on palliative care. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based home health and hospice provider recently picked former Walgreens Co. President Richard Ashworth as its next CEO. He succeeds Chairman Paul Kusserow, who returned as the company’s […]
Wheels of change are in motion at Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) as CEO Paul Kusserow begins his second term at the helm. For starters, the company is going full-speed ahead on palliative care, delivered through its subsidiary Contessa Health. Amedisys yesterday announced a partnership with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to cover those services, as well as […]
Home health and hospice giant Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) has repeatedly voiced its enthusiasm for its palliative care business in early 2023. It now has another reason to be excited: a new contracting agreement with a key payer. On Wednesday, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Amedisys announced a new agreement with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to […]
Expanding its palliative care business is a rising priority for Amedisys Inc., (NASDAQ: AMED) following Chairman Paul Kusserow’s return as CEO. The company’s palliative care strategy rests on the back of risk-based payment models, primarily Medicare Advantage, Kusserow indicated at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. This push dovetails with the home health and hospice provider’s […]
A primary barrier for patient and family access to palliative care is a lack of standardized definition and payment mechanism. Without an established palliative care benefit or universally recognized definition in place, care delivery models, patient experiences and reimbursement of palliative care services vary widely across the nation. Consequently, many providers and payers don’t have […]