Hospice News

OCTOBER 19, 2023

The hospice merger and acquisition (M&A) space has seen an increasingly diverse and growing mix of investors during the last five years. Demographic tailwinds are pushing a wider range of stakeholders into the hospice and palliative care realms.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

This year has brought both tumultuous challenges and evolving opportunities for hospices that will steer hospice leadership during 2024. Hospice News spoke with a group of industry leaders about the most impactful forces that will shape the space in the coming year. Hospice care reduces Medicare expenditures by about $3.5

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Strong performance on the Hospice Care Index is becoming increasingly essential to securing payer and referral contracts and will be a key consideration in the federal government’s forthcoming Special Focus Program (SFP). The Hospice Care Index can be a referral driver.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 4, 2023

After the tumultuous years of the pandemic, VITAS Healthcare expects a stable growth trajectory heading into 2024. Though the company has not yet released financial guidance for 2024, VITAS anticipates a “predictable” 2024 in terms of earnings and growth, executives said at Monday’s Bank of America Healthcare Conference.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 15, 2023

The worst of the staffing challenges is far from over for embattled hospice providers seeking fruitful recruitment and retention strategies in 2024. Burnout has pushed up turnover rates among hospice clinicians for several years running – even before the pandemic. NYSE: CHE). Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Amid intensified regulatory scrutiny, staffing headwinds and shifts towards value-based care, hospices need to ensure that they’ve made a strong commitment to quality and to foster a positive workplace culture, according to hospice leaders. These entities are gauging how a hospice measures up in the U.S

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Hospice News

APRIL 5, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow hospice patients to receive concurrent care through the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in, and will permit health plans to further restrict utilization of out-of-network providers. But today’s update from CMS contained another critical change from prior years.

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Hospice News

JULY 28, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is giving hospices a 3.1% increase to their per diem payments for 2024, according to a final rule published Friday. That will translate to a $780 million bump to hospice payments next year compared to Fiscal Year 2023, according to CMS. for next year, up from $32,486.92

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Investment trends in the hospice industry have meandered in recent years, impacting providers’ approaches to growth in 2024. The mix of hospice buyers has become more diverse during the past five years to include more private equity investors, large health and hospital systems and home health companies, along with payers.

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Hospice News

APRIL 3, 2023

The 2024 proposed hospice rule from the U.S. We should anticipate increased emphasis on program integrity in the hospice program.” We should anticipate increased emphasis on program integrity in the hospice program.” Other provisions are designed to promote greater transparency around hospice ownership.

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Hospice News

JULY 28, 2022

House of Representatives has approved a bill that would extend telehealth waivers until the end of 2024, whether or not the COVID-19 public health emergency is extended. This includes the ability to re-certify patients for hospice through virtual visits.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 20, 2022

The omnibus spending bill to currently before Congress includes provisions that would extend the waiver for recertification using telehealth through the end of 2024, among other items pertaining to hospice. For many hospices, what began as a temporary measure has evolved as an integral part of clinical operations.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 29, 2024

Therefore, we can expect continued demand for palliative care, the slow evolution of payment models that could support further growth and more partnerships among providers across the continuum designed to boost utilization and slash expenditures. Rising demand In 2024, demand will continue to rise, driven by a number of factors.

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Hospice News

MARCH 21, 2024

Members of Congress are raising questions about the continued Medicare certification for new hospices in areas rife with fraud. Though he pledged more detailed responses at a later date, Becerra told lawmakers that CMS is certifying hospices in markets where there is a need identified in the community. “I Michelle Steel (R-Calif.)

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Hospice News

JANUARY 12, 2024

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has voted to recommend a freeze on hospice payment increases starting in 2025. This recommendation is offered at a time when hospice care costs have risen faster than any inflation update provided by CMS,” Dombi told Hospice News in an email. “A

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently finalized hospice payment rule. The concern, however, is that hospices lack the financial support and incentives needed to bridge barriers, with reimbursement a main point of contention, he said.

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Hospice News

MARCH 20, 2024

In this Voices interview, Hospice News sits down with Patrick Leary, VP, Client Services, Enclara Pharmacia, to learn about the top factors that impact the nurse experience in hospice care. Hospice News: Since our last conversation in mid-2021, what challenges have you encountered amidst the changes that have taken place?

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Program integrity issues that have heated up in the hospice space during the past five years reached a boiling point in 2023. Hospice providers have seen an array of increased regulatory oversight in 2023. There is scrutiny on hospice care [that’s] setting the stage for the next phase of what hospice oversight looks like.

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Hospice News

MAY 13, 2024

Research trends can help hospice providers improve their understanding around the impacts of their services and where quality gaps may exist. Research on global and national levels can play an important role in the ability to understand issues around hospice utilization and disparities. Congress extended the flexibility through Dec.

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Hospice News

MARCH 15, 2024

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has recommended to Congress a freeze on hospice payment increases starting in 2025. In its annual report to Congress, MedPAC urged policymakers to eliminate hospice base-rate increases for 2025. The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 11, 2023

The lines of communication between hospice leaders and compliance executives need to be open and transparent in today’s regulatory environment. The complexities of hospice regulation alongside increased oversight in the space have led providers to zero in on compliance.

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Hospice News

MAY 28, 2024

Honing clinical scheduling and onboarding models is key to sustaining the hospice nurse workforce as demand for these clinicians rises and wages lag compared to those in other settings. Building sustainable models Effective and empathetic communication is among the key skills for hospice nurses to possess, White indicated.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Hospice of Cincinnati Unveils New Hospital-Based Inpatient Unit Hospice of Cincinnati has opened a new inpatient unit at The Christ Hospital. Auburn, Ohio, with the new inpatient hospice unit featuring 10 patient beds, a chapel and a family gathering space. The hospital is located in Mt.

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Hospice News

APRIL 23, 2024

A group of Wisconsin-based organizations, including hospices, are working to improve end-of-life care among homeless populations. Individuals who elect to receive hospice at the facility will receive care from local providers. It’s] identifying the different populations and care gaps that exist. Solace Friends Inc.

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Hospice News

MARCH 12, 2024

Program integrity and an onslaught of audits are top of mind for many hospice providers in 2024. We look forward to continuing our work with CMS and Congress to ensure an equitable and effective enforcement system that preserves access to nonprofit, mission driven hospice care.”

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should clarify timeframes associated with a proposed informal dispute resolution process for hospice providers and retool aspects of the agency’s forthcoming Special Focus Program, according to an industry group representing nonprofits. The agency wants to move ahead with it in 2024.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

After 75 years of service, Georgia-based hospice provider Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) has its sights set on the future. Founded in 1948, the organization was the first home-based care provider to operate in Georgia, and in 1975 launched the state’s first hospice program. Seniors represented 14.7%

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2024

Hospice providers, industry groups and other stakeholders recently penned a letter urging Congress to improve payment infrastructures that would increase access to end-of-life care among rural populations. For some rural areas, they’re not seen as financially feasible or sustainable to larger programs,” Kuhlman told Hospice News. “So,

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized its 2024 home health rule, including the implementation of a hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). The rule also finalizes the proposed “36-month”rule for hospice providers.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 30, 2024

When deprescribing medications for hospice patients, providers have to navigate a complex web of factors. Medication costs are among hospices’ biggest expenses, and deprescribing some medications deemed “curative” or “unrelated” to the patient’s terminal diagnosis is a standard practice. “We Everything is based on cost.

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2024

Hospices, in aggregate, are showing improvement on the quality measure for visits in the last days of life. In Calendar Year 2021, the share of hospice care days with nurse visits in the last seven days of life rose to 63%, up from 62% year over year, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

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Hospice News

JUNE 26, 2023

Hospice providers are growing increasingly concerned about how state laws related to transgender rights may impede access to their services among LGBTQ+ communities. A rash of states have recently passed legislation to ban the delivery of gender-affirming health care, including Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, among others.

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Hospice News

APRIL 18, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is insufficient to support hospice patients’ care needs, a major industry group said. CMS earlier this month released its 2024 hospice proposed rule , which included the 2.8% proposed rate increase for hospices is not enough to support the care hospices provide.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Both opportunities and challenges exist for hospice providers as regulators zero in on program integrity. Hospices stand to grow their census by taking on patients left behind by “bad actors” in certain markets. Widespread reports of fraud and abuse in hospice have led to intensified regulatory oversight during 2023.

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NHPCO

APRIL 17, 2023

For Immediate Release April 17, 2023 (Alexandria, VA) The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) published the following statement in response to a recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule that would update key components of hospice reimbursement and regulations in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Two Florida nonprofit hospice providers have signaled their intention to affiliate — St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care and Treasure Coast Hospice. Francis Reflections and Treasure Coast Hospice leadership expect the affiliation to complete in 2024 and are in the process of developing a comprehensive integration plan.

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Hospice News

MARCH 18, 2024

Care coordination and quality data will be engines for hospice referral growth. Hospices saw census volumes drop during the COVID-19 public health emergency as facilities nationwide restricted access to patients amid mandated state closures. Quality is at the crux of every aspect of the care continuum, Luo stated.

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