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Hospices Stepping Up Performance on Visits-in-Last-Days-of-Life Measure

Hospice News

The number of registered nurse and social worker visits during a patient’s final week is one of the seven quality measures that CMS uses to evaluate providers. Social worker visits in the last days of life also rose to 9% in 2021, up from 7% in 2020. In 2019, for example, the percentage was 66%.

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Facility-Bound Hospice Patients Less Likely to Get SIA Visits

Hospice News

Researchers analyzed 2020 claims data to identify associations between SIA utilization and hospice Medicare beneficiaries’ characteristics such as site of service, level of care and length of stay, among others. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced SIA in 2016.

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Calls Grow Louder for Greater Federal Support of Rural Hospices

Hospice News

Current reimbursement structures within the federally established Medicare Hospice Benefit do not sufficiently support the level of care needed in rural-based communities, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). “We House of Representatives’ Ways and MeansCommittee.

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Key Palliative Care Trends to Watch in 2024

Hospice News

Palliative care in general can reduce health care costs by more than $4,000 per patient, according to a July 2017 study in Health Affairs. Fee-for-service Medicare, for example, only covers physician and licensed independent practitioner services and does not cover the full range of interdisciplinary palliative care.

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Hospices Call on Congress to Support Rural Hospices, Patients

Hospice News

About 18% of hospices nationwide operated in rural areas in 2021, according to a report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). About 845 hospices provided care in rural-based regions in 2021, a drop from 878 organizations in 2017, the MedPAC report found. These individuals are not always in the rural communities.

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Top Lawmakers for Hospices to Watch in 2024

Hospice News

Lawmakers have an essential role in ensuring the viability of the Medicare Hospice Benefit, according to Davis Baird, director for government affairs for hospice at the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC). So, having those conversations about what those improvements would be is going to be an important exercise in 2024.”

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How Hospices Are Diversifying Their Services in 2024

Hospice News

The Colorado-based hospice provider began offering PACE programming in 2017. Most PACE participants are reimbursed through the long-term care programs within Medicare and Medicaid, according to Black. She also serves as president emeritus of the Gateway End-of-Life Coalition and founder of ACE End-of-Life Doula Services. “A

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