Home Health and Hospice Service to reduce coverage area
By KATINA TENGESDALDue to a steady decline in Medicare's reimbursement payments, and the rising cost of travel and providing care, Trinity Health's Home Health and Hospice service will be reducing its coverage area.
Trinity Health provides home health and hospice services to patients within a 75 to 85 mile radius of Minot, but after July 31, that coverage area will be reduced to a 45-mile radius.
"There's still other care out there. They're (patients out of the service area) just not going to have the nice convenience of being treated at home. I think it's kind of a sign of the times," said Liz Johnson, Trinity Health's Home Health/Hospice service director.
"Ninety-five percent of our work is with Medicare. Medicare is our main payer, and in this last year, the 5 percent add-on to Medicare reimbursements for home health services in rural areas disappeared," she added.
Three other home health agencies in the state have had to close their doors in this past year.
"Right now, we're (Trinity Health's Home Health) the only home health agency until you get to the east side of the state, in Grand Forks," Johnson said.
Patients outside of the 45-mile zone will be able to complete their current course of visits with Trinity Home Health, but no new patients will be added from the area after July 31.
Johnson said home health staff will still offer information and options for patients calling outside of the service area. Home health staff have also been looking at other options.
"Hopefully, we can use our resources to look at (starting) a hospice home for people who live out of town, or a different approach that doesn't bring in all that travel. Every agency is looking at reducing expenses somehow in order to keep up with reimbursement," Johnson said.
