The fiscal 2020 Medicare payment and policy final rule for home health agencies was published last night, William Blair analyst Matt Larew tells investors in a research note. The "behavioral adjustment" remained in the final rule as expected, and technically increased from 8.01% to 8.39%, says the analyst. However, given the magnitude of changes that the Patient-Driven Groupings Model system brings for 2020, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid now believes that it will take providers longer to adopt the "assumed behaviors," adds the analyst. The net outcome is that the behavioral adjustment for 2020 has decreased to 4.36% in the final rule from 8.01% in the proposed rule, says Larew. He believes this is a positive outcome for providers that should push 2020 estimates higher. The analyst has Outperform ratings on Addus HomeCare (ADUS), Amedisys (AMED), Encompass Health (EHC) and LHC Group (LHCG).