The acquisition pipeline is getting bigger, not smaller, says the respiratory giant that bought 17 businesses for $74 million in 2002. Market growth continues to outstrip the rate at which Apria Healthcare Group Inc., Lincare Holdings Inc. and other companies buy up…

Growth has been good to Odyssey Health-care Inc., and the for-profit hospice chain plans to keep on growing in 2003. The Dallas-based company plans to open eight new locations this year and focus principally on internal growth, CEO Richard Burnham said in…

Beverly Enterprises Inc. plans to unload its home medical equipment business, MK Medical, which it had placed under a third-party billing audit last year. Fort Smith, AK-based Beverly decided to classify the unit as an asset held for sale at the…

The message that home care is significantly cheaper than nursing home care seems to be falling on deaf ears as states struggle to balance budgets. Governors and state legislatures continue to propose cuts to home care programs in their efforts to…

Starting in May, you won’t have to wonder if your friendly surveyor will show up on your doorstep armed with incriminating evidence from your OASIS-based reports - you know she will. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provided training to surveyors…

The fate of your home health agency could depend on the 11 outcomes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has chosen to hold up for public comparison. Fare well and your reputation - and admissions - could soar. Fare poorly and…

Home health agencies, already facing reimbursement fire, will find themselves under the microscope soon. Starting in April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will publicly compare 11 home health patient outcomes in Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, Wisconsin…