New Quality Measures for Home and Community-Based Services

In July 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new quality measures for home- and community-based services (HCBS). The home health industry has been consistently regulated by high-quality standards, but the personal home care industry has typically not been governed by quality measures such as these. At Direct Care Innovations, we’d like to share the various benefits and goals of these new quality standards, and what they mean for your home health agency.

Benefits of New HCBS Measures

CMS created these new quality measures in order to promote health equity and consistent quality measurements for state Medicaid HCBS programs. These new standards will provide older adults and those living with disabilities expanded access to HCBS programs, such as the following:

• Consistent quality measures across the HCBS industry
• Reasonable standards of care, particularly for Medicaid-focused providers
• Tools for providers to better understand various health outcomes
• Reduction of health discrepancies among older adults and individuals living with developmental disabilities
• Access for individuals to high-quality services in their local communities

Goals of New Quality HCBS Measures

These new quality measures were designed to fulfill three goals for individuals receiving personal home health care services: 

• Increased access to high-quality care through resources that support overall well-being and home- and community-based services
• Finding a balance between spending on institutional care and spending on personal home health care
• Community integration that allows for the full inclusion of children, adults, and seniors in Medicaid programs that are receiving HCBS

High-Quality Care for Your Clients

DCI proudly works with several providers and agencies in both the Medicaid and Medicare markets. With our healthcare management solutions, we can streamline your back-end processes so you can do what you do best — provide high-quality home health care to children and adults living with developmental disabilities. Reach out today to learn more, or request a demo by calling us at (480) 295-3307.

Source: Donlan, Andrew. "CMS Announces Unprecedented Quality Measure Set for Home- and Community-Based Services." Home Health Care News. Aging Media Network, 21 Jul. 2022. Web. 12 Sep. 2022.