This article is part of the HHCN+ membership
One of my favorite things about being HHCN's Associate Editor is guiding HHCN+ content. These content are the stories and resources our team spends the most time on and feature some of the most expert voices in the home care industry.
In this week's HHCN+ Update, we review the top stories and takeaways from 2025's HHCN+ content. As we reflect on the past year, including articles, the TALKS interview series, and live events, a few key themes have emerged. In particular, it's clear that our HHCN+ community is focused on two key areas, which we'll discuss in more detail in this update.
Evolving payments landscape colored by the rise of Medicare Advantage and the need for reimbursement innovation Technology that can drive efficiency and transform operations
Our coverage of these and other topics is driven by input and opinion from HHCN+ members, and this update provides more details about how we shape our coverage.
As we look to 2026, HHCN+ will continue to focus on must-know topics, most-requested angles, and diamond-in-the-rough stories with tips from our members. We would like to thank you for a wonderful year and wish you all the best as we look forward to 2026.
Talk about payment innovation
HHCN+ TALKS is a quarterly live interview series. Members have direct access to industry experts and pioneers to learn how to evolve and future-proof their business. If you haven't attended TALKS live yet, we highly encourage you to join and submit your questions to our guests.
In this update, I'm sharing two of my favorite moments from the 2025 TALKS episode.
The evolution to value-based care is one of the most requested topics covered by HHCN. Healthcare providers struggling with low profit margins are viewing episode-based upside risk arrangements as a way to increase revenue while focusing on quality of care.
This topic was addressed in the first HHCN+ TALKS episode of the year, featuring WellBe Senior Medical CEO Jeff Kang, who previously served as Chief Medical Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Kang believes in a value-based model as a pathway for primary care to get patients back into their homes.
“The big difference is the introduction of a value-based model,” Kang said. “We don't really rely on piecework. In essence, we're both a provider and a payer. We're financially responsible for the hospital bill, the radiology bill, the specialist bill. That's the value-based model or the full-risk model. That's what we do. We can make it work because we're ready to spend time with patients, keep them healthy, and get them out of the hospital. We make money by keeping people healthy and getting them out of the hospital. That's completely reversed in a piecemeal world. You make money just by seeing as many patients as possible in a day, but that's not necessarily good for the patients.”
Kang also suggested a first step home health care providers can take to move toward value-based care: a shared savings model.
This follows my next favorite HHCN+ TALKS point, also about payments innovation: the redemption flywheel. This concept is rooted in the performance gains associated with Medicare Advantage and was outlined by Sue Chapman Moss, Bayada Home Health Care's managing director of payer and provider contracting and strategy, on the Q3 Talk episode.
For Bayada, the shared savings model allows for reinvestment in its people, technology and clinical innovation, Moss said.
“The Medicare Advantage payment model allows us to pass the incremental performance gains through our organization so we can continue to invest in our data pipeline, people, and people to deliver results we're truly proud of,” said Moss. “The impact that has had on our margins. What's been really interesting about my tenure here at Bayada is that I can't imagine what margin pressures our company would have faced if I hadn't done this body of work.”
In my view, creating this kind of flywheel is of paramount importance for providers. Providers told HHCN that they recognize the need for innovation, but consistently face barriers such as cost and training requirements. One innovation on the reimbursement side can drive innovation in other important areas of a provider's business.
Shaping the HHCN+ story
I'd like to talk a little bit about how our team orchestrates HHCN+ content.
Many of our stories come from quick asides from sources during interviews or hallway conversations at in-person events.
However, our general coverage is guided in no small part by direct input from HHCN+ members, as well as what we can catch up on via video chat and networking receptions. HHCN conducts an annual survey of HHCN+ members, and the results of the survey help guide which topics are prioritized over others. Of course, there's always time for weird stories that come out from the depths of my notes app, but this research helps our team decide which questions to ask in interviews, which articles to publish earliest, which topics to discuss on HHCN+ TALKS episodes, and even what some of our panels at live events will be about.
For example, when discussing technology, respondents said they were most interested in learning more about AI and electronic health records. In 2025, we covered a variety of AI-related topics, including how AI tools reduce pressure from Outcome and Assessment Information Sets (OASIS) and the policies providers have put in place to safely leverage AI without creating compliance risks. These research insights also informed the writing of two stories about EHRs. One is about choosing the right EHR, and the other is about integrating and maintaining that EHR.
Here are some of the top ideas from our coverage of AI and EHR technology.
The introduction of AI and technology is shaping strategic readiness for far-reaching regulatory and payments changes. In addition to using AI to reduce documentation time, healthcare providers see it as a strategic tool to address increasing expectations for value-based care and reporting. AI-related insights can be used to analyze trends and outcomes that help agencies prepare for shifts in payment models such as risk-based contracting and quality reporting requirements.
Technology choices (AI and EHR) are forcing providers to rethink workflows and upgrade infrastructure. EHR selection and integration is more than just a technology issue; it reveals deeper organizational needs such as change management, cross-functional collaboration, and data governance. Home health leaders report that EHR implementation often exposes gaps in internal processes and highlights opportunities for workflow redesign, training, and improved data interoperability.
AI highlights limitations in data quality and interoperability. Using AI to assist with documentation improves efficiency but highlights issues with the data underlying EHRs and other systems. To get meaningful output from AI, agencies need clean, standardized data flows and improved integration across platforms and clinical and operational functions. This has implications for EHR configuration, data governance, and interoperability practices.
Additionally, earlier in this update, we mentioned that we regularly hear requests for articles and content about value-based care. This is not an anecdote. The HHCN+ survey found that 80% of respondents who wanted to learn more about Medicare and Medicaid policy wanted to focus on value-based care models (this was exceeded only by a desire to focus more on Medicare Advantage, which we discussed in detail in several episodes and stories of this year's TALKS).
One respondent specifically requested, “I'd like to see more focus on moving towards value[rather than charging for services]. The more information we have on this, the better.” Another asked: “Promote a true definition and measurement of (value-based care) where the industry can come together to build a functional model. Success requires a single point of truth.”
Comments like these raise difficult but important questions with no simple answers. It is clear that the “true” definition of value-based care continues to be evaded by the industry, especially in non-Medicare home care.
“That's the next hill we have to climb, is whether we as an industry can help define value-based in personal care and chart the path for what that will become,” said Kunu Kaushal, CEO of Senior Solutions, at this year's HHCN's FUTURE conference.
The definition of home health care is a bit simpler, but still complex. If you missed it, check out my podcast episode with Bayada's Home Care Innovation Principal Scientist Mike Johnson to see his thoughts on this issue.
As I reflect on this investigation and the coverage that inspired it, I can't help but be excited about the stories and content that HHCN will cover in 2026. Of course, there will be more talk about payments, technology, and operations, but we will continue to uncover niche topics and exciting home care initiatives that might not otherwise be discussed. I will continue to reflect the opinions of members at every stage.
