Prospective rates for episodes of home health care.

Starting October 1, 2000, Medicare began paying providers of home health care at fixed, predetermined rates for services and items bundled into 60-day episodes of home health care. The episode payment rates vary with the patient's clinical, functional, and services utilization characteristics. This new approach was expected to redistribute Medicare payments among home health agencies, extend the cost savings introduced by the Interim Payment System, improve the coordination of services, and reduce the number of unnecessary home health visits.