Medicare Home Health : Payments to Most Freestanding Home Health Agencies More Than Covered Their Costs

February 2004 Medicare Home Health : Payments to Most Freestanding Home Health Agencies More Than Covered Their Costs Under Medicare's home health prospective payment system (PPS), home health agencies (HHA) are paid a fixed amount, adjusted for differences in individual patients? expected care needs, for providing an episode (up to 60 days) of care. In the first 2 years after the PPS started, aggregate Medicare payments to freestanding HHAs as a group more than covered their total Medicare costs of providing care to their patients. Their aggregate Medicare margin was 16.2 percent in 2001 and 17.8 percent in . . .