The VNA of Texas announced Jan. 8 that it will no longer provide home health care, focusing instead on hospice, private duty and Meals on Wheels services.
 
In a press release, VNA board chair Ted Enloe is quoted as saying that “increased costs, diminished reimbursement rates and a proliferation of for-profit home health care agencies” prompted the decision.
 
Agencies in the Dallas area have long contended with particularly fierce competition and recently found their relationships with area physicians strained in the aftermath of a large-scale fraud case which led to the indictment or suspension of 81 agencies.
 
The VNA has been around since 1934, when it was founded by volunteers as a resource for poor patients with nowhere else to turn for care, according to the release.
 
The VNA's current home health patients will be moved to other providers or discharged, as appropriate, the press release states.