<p>Some health systems will soon be able to begin performing elective procedures again, thanks to a new set of guidelines from the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) released Sunday.<br></p>



<p>A return of elective procedures could be a boost for home health providers, who have experienced a decrease in revenue during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Home health agencies that have historically cared for a large number of hip and knee patients post-surgery have been hit especially hard.<br></p>



<p>In March, CMS recommended reducing &ldquo;non-essential&rdquo; medical and surgical procedures in order to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), beds and ventilators. The recommendation was also meant to help ensure a health care workforce was available to care for those most in need during the COVID-19 emergency. <br></p>



<p>For home providers, though, an overall decrease in elective procedures has meant fluctuations in patient volumes and other bottom-line challenges. <br></p>



<p>&ldquo;Home health agencies often care for patients who have had elective surgeries, such as joint replacements,&rdquo; Bill Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care &amp; Hospice (NAHC), told Home Health Care News in an email. &ldquo;The suspension of elective surgeries has had a significant revenue impact for home health agencies.&rdquo;<br></p>



<p>Some home health agencies have reported reductions in revenue exceeding 25%, according to Dombi.<br></p>



<p>&ldquo;When those surgeries return, agencies can be counted on to be there for post-surgical care,&rdquo; he said. <br></p>



<p>CMS&rsquo;s new guidelines are for states or regions that are seeing a relatively low or stable number of coronavirus cases. The guidelines are part of the first phase of the Trump administration&rsquo;s &ldquo;Guidelines for Opening Up America Again.&rdquo;<br></p>



<p>&ldquo;Today, some areas of the country are experiencing fewer cases and lower incidence of the virus, necessitating a more tailored and flexible approach,&rdquo; CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. &ldquo;Every state and local official will need to assess the situation on the ground to determine the best course forward, but these guidelines provide a gradual process for restarting non-COVID-19 essential care while keeping patients safe.&rdquo;<br></p>



<p>CMS&rsquo;s guidelines specify that health care organizations that have the resources to do so should provide non-COVID-19 care. These decisions should align with public health information and be made with state public health authorities. <br></p>



<p>Additionally, the guidelines address evaluating care based on clinical needs, screening all patients for COVID-19 symptoms and following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations surrounding PPE. <br></p>



<p>About 88% of medical personnel in more than 200 U.S. cities do not have an adequate supply of PPE, according to <a href="https://www.usmayors.org/issues/covid-19/equipment-survey/">a U.S. Conference of Mayors survey</a>. A lack of PPE has been particularly challenging for in-home care providers, often left off equipment prioritization lists. </p>



<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard interesting stories about providers reaching out to construction supply stores, baby supply stores, restaurant supply stores, beauty supply stores and wherever they can get masks and gloves,&rdquo; Dean Chalios, president and CEO of the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH), <a href="https://homehealthcarenews.com/2020/04/home-health-industry-turns-to-tattoo-parlors-department-stores-for-ppe-help/">previously told HHCN</a>. &ldquo;One agency even reached out to a tattoo parlor because they had gloves. It&rsquo;s all hands on deck.&rdquo;</p>



<p>CMS <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-flexibility-reopen-essential-non-covid-services.pdf">made several specific recommendations</a> for what health care facilities need to do to open back up for non-coronavirus care.<br></p>



<p>Those recommendations, for example, included establishing non-COVID Care (NCC) zones where patients and staff are routinely screened for symptoms. Additional recommendations included creating administrative guidelines that uphold social distancing and establishing rigorous sanitation protocols. <br></p>



<p>As more health systems begin implementing reopening efforts, it&rsquo;s likely that home health providers will see a surge in patients in the next few months, according to Mark Sharp, a partner at BKD, a Springfield, Missouri-based accounting services firm.<br></p>



<p>&ldquo;Elective procedures will likely begin to pick back up soon due to the reopening efforts,&rdquo; Sharp told HHCN in an email. &ldquo;It may not pick back up as much as we would like due to the continued fear of COVID-19. We also anticipate there could be a new trend of sicker patients coming to home health as these patients and their families are trying to stay out of institutional care at all costs.&rdquo;<br></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://homehealthcarenews.com/2020/04/cms-plan-to-resume-elective-procedures-could-end-home-health-business-lull/">CMS Plan to Resume Elective Procedures Could End Home Health Business Lull</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://homehealthcarenews.com/">Home Health Care News</a>.</p>