This week, Home Health Care News readers wanted to know about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new proposal that would require preauthorization before seeing patients. Readers were also into a new $5 million investment from Kaiser Permanente Ventures to in-home care startup Hometeam. We also shared with our dear readers how one private duty home health agency is taking on initiatives to reduce hospital readmissions associated with Medicare penalties and high-risk patients.

Around the web, there was some good news for older women—fewer seniors are living alone these days, in part because men are living longer, leaving fewer widows.

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CMS Floats Home Health Prior Authorization Requirement—The home health industry could be bracing for another measure to combat fraud and abuse in a prosed pilot that would require preauthorization before seeing patients. CMS quietly announced it is seeking approval for a Medicare Probable Fraud Measurement Pilot in five states.

How One Private Duty Agency is Reducing Hospital Readmissions—A New Jersey-based private duty home care provider is pushing hard on new initiatives to reduce hospital readmissions, believing that private duty has a major role to play within Affordable Care Act programs. The agency, Executive Care, has developed staff training and protocols to focus on specific conditions that are formally associated with Medicare readmission penalties and high-risk patients.

Kaiser Permanente Ventures Backs Hometeam with $5 Million—An innovative home care startup that has captured headlines with its successful funding rounds has snagged another big investment. In-home care provider Hometeam has secured a $5 million investment from Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the venture capital arm of California-based health care giant Kaiser Permanente.

Around the Web 

As Men Live Longer, Women Are Less Likely to Live Alone—Gone are the days of the archetype older widow living alone. A new study shows that in the U.S., it’s becoming a lot less common for women to live alone in old age, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. Overall, the percentage of older adults who live alone has fallen in recent years, a drop mostly driven by a decline in the number of elderly women living solo. The change is due, at least in part, to men living longer.

Millennial Home Care Worker to Presidential Candidates: You Want My Vote, Come Get It—As part of the fight for a $15 minimum wage, a millennial voter takes to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to share why he wants the presidential candidates to take on minimum wage increases in the home care industry.

Written by Amy Baxter