Hospice News

APRIL 11, 2024

Black Americans are frequently denied access to hospice and palliative care due to structural racism, and many of those communities lack sufficient information to make end-of-life care decisions, new research has found. Access to hospice and palliative care is perceived as lacking. I’ll say the obvious, racism. were Hispanic; 1.8%

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries are more likely to enroll in hospice from a community setting than patients in traditional fee-for-service programs. million patients who elected hospice in the last 90 days of life during the years 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018. Years prior to 2018 showed similar patterns.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 19, 2023

Residential Hospice has acquired Illinois-based Safe Haven Hospice from the senior living provider Christian Horizons for an undisclosed sum. More than 57,000 Illinois residents enrolled in hospice during 2021, a utilization rate of about 47%, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Hospice News

APRIL 1, 2024

Justice Department has sentenced two individuals linked to California hospices on alleged False Claims Act violations, among other charges. Gayk Akhsharumov, manager and owner of San Gabriel Hospice & Palliative Care and Broadway Hospice, received a sentence of one year and one day in prison and was ordered to pay close to $9.2

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Hospice News

MAY 1, 2023

On June 1, LifeTouch Hospice will merge with Arkansas Hospice. Both hospices are owned and operated by the SHARE Foundation, a nonprofit, faith-based organization. The hospice last year served 430 patients in a five-county region of Arkansas. Meanwhile, Arkansas Hospice has fared better.

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Hospice News

APRIL 5, 2024

Patients in assisted living-based memory care facilities have higher mortality rates and are more likely to enroll in hospice, a new study indicates. million hospice recipients were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 6.8% Hospice utilization was 8% and 10.6% Hospice utilization was 8% and 10.6% of the nation’s 1.7

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Rising demand and demographic tailwinds are propelling rapid growth in both the hospice and palliative care markets. A large concern is whether there will be enough hospice and palliative care providers to keep pace with demand, according to Brian Tanquilut, equity analyst in health care services at investment banking company Jeffries LLC.

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Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) review and appeals process, according to CEO Greg Hagfors. The case has significance for hospice providers nationwide as CMS and its contractors continue to ramp up audits. OIG, on behalf of CMS, informed the hospice that it would be audited in a May 2018 letter.

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Hospice News

JUNE 14, 2023

Medication costs are among hospice providers’ biggest expenses, and some are asking policymakers to take action on prices. While recent industry-wide data are scarce on drug costs for hospice patients, providers often identify these as their second-highest expense, behind wages, salaries and employee benefits. told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 23, 2022

Vice-chair Nandini Natrajan will succeed him as leader of the board, which Heath joined in 2018. A veteran of the senior services sector, Health has spent his 30-year career as a leader of hospice, senior housing, long term care, and PACE programs, in addition to a stint as a health care lobbyist. And we see that in the hospice.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Members of Congress are seeking answers from federal regulators on hospice program integrity as industry advocacy groups call for further action. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), asking for the agency to brief them on fraud and abuse within the hospice benefit.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 8, 2023

Hospices seeking to gauge the potential impact of new regulatory actions in the space can look to their counterparts in the home health field. We then started seeing the greater degree of impact,” Dombi told Hospice News. CMS is no doubt hoping for similar results for the Medicare Hospice Benefit. told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

JULY 17, 2023

Fraud, waste and abuse issues that have percolated in the hospice space have put providers up against some regulatory walls. Bad actors in the hospice space can cost the nation’s health care system millions in fraudulent billing practices and also hinder access to care among terminally ill patients.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Two hospices have lost the battle against workforce shortages, with one halting some of its service lines and another shutting down altogether. Hospice and Home Care of Juneau shutters. Alaska-based Hospice and Home Care of Juneau (HHCJ) recently announced its closure, citing high staffing costs and lack of clinicians.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2022

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is poised to recommend that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reduce the aggregate cap for hospice payments by 20% in 2024. The commission has yet to vote on the recommendations, but MedPAC has called for similar cuts annually since 2018.

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Hospice News

MARCH 13, 2023

Utah-based Summit Hospice has agreed to settle allegations of False Claims Act violations for $1.05 OIG alleged in a recent report that Summit Hospice violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid for non-covered hospice services. Summit Hospice denied the allegations.

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Hospice News

JUNE 7, 2023

Hospice leaders and lawmakers are meeting on Capitol Hill today to address the pressing issue of program integrity, among other policy priorities. Thus far, California is the only state to take action on the issue, beginning with a moratorium on new hospice licenses and an extensive audit of California’s oversight processes.

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Hospice News

JUNE 30, 2022

Texas-based senior living provider EdenHill Communities recently expanded to offer hospice services. The continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is located on a 27-acre campus, in which eligible residents are now able to access in-house hospice services. The company previously outsourced hospice services for residents.

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Hospice News

JUNE 13, 2023

Department of Justice (DOJ) is prioritizing hospice as the agency cracks down on health care fraud. DOJ counts hospice claims among the root causes of rising Medicare costs in recent years, according to Lisa Miller, deputy assistant attorney general overseeing the department’s Crime Fraud Section.

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Hospice News

JUNE 15, 2022

An overwhelming majority of hospice providers have seen costs of patient care rise 3% to 10% since 2019, and many expect further increases next year. This is prompting calls for Medicare to reconsider proposed 2023 reimbursement rates. . The hospice advocacy group NHPCO is now asking the U.S.

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Hospice News

JULY 3, 2023

Some hospice owners have been selling their businesses soon after securing a license. The practice appears to stem from a rash of newly licensed hospices that have emerged in California, Nevada, Texas and Arizona. Some of these providers have secured licenses, as well as Medicare certification and, sometimes, accreditation.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 30, 2022

Michigan-headquartered Residential Hospice has acquired Comfort Hospice in Missouri and Grace Hospice in Ohio for undisclosed amounts. Residential purchased the two hospices from health care company U.S. Medical Management will retain its hospice locations outside of St. Hospice utilization in Missouri reached 50.2%

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2023

Legacy Hospice has expanded in Missouri by acquiring Safe Harbor Hospice for an undisclosed sum. The company is backed by the Chicago-based private equity firm Prairie Capital. We have no reason to believe this growth won’t continue,” Blair told Hospice News. “We Hospice utilization in Missouri reached 50.2%

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Agape Care Group has expanded into Alabama and Louisiana with the acquisition of Journey Hospice. Both [Alabama and Louisiana] are tremendous markets with compelling demographics and strong workforces,” Agape CEO Troy Yarborough told Hospice News. “We Hospice utilization among Medicare decedents in Alabama reached 47.4%

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2022

Francis Reflections Lifestage Care recently opened a new inpatient hospice care center inside the Melbourne Regional Medical Center. A swelling demand for hospice in the community spurred the unit’s development. We are thankful the community will now have access to hospice care close to home to service the growing need.”.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 16, 2022

(NASDAQ: PNTG) has purchased California-based Ardent Hospice and Palliative Care in the San Diego area for an undisclosed amount. Ardent, which also offers home health care, serves between 20 and 50 hospice patients per day, according to National Hospice Locator. The company received its Medicare certification in 2013. “We

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Hospice News

MARCH 16, 2023

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has once again recommended a 20% cut to the aggregate cap for hospice payments. MedPAC has called for similar cuts annually since 2018, but to date, Congress has not implemented these reductions. of hospices exceeded the cap, MedPAC estimated. During 2020, about 18.6%

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Hospice News

JUNE 29, 2023

Hospices often lack the financial and staffing resources needed to fully support bereaved families. Gross is also a medical director at ANX Hospice Care. Gross is also a medical director at ANX Hospice Care. Hospices are not reimbursed enough to support grief care teams,” Gross told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Justice Department has indicted three individuals who are linked to California hospices on alleged False Claims Act violations, among other charges. Karen Sarkisyan, Gayk Akhsharumov, and Babken Chalkadryan, of San Gabriel Hospice & Palliative Care and Broadway Hospice were each charged in the U.S

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Hospice provider Agape Care Group has acquired GHC Hospice for an undisclosed sum, furthering the company’s goal of multistate expansion through the Southeast. We’ve been laser focused in the Southeast over the last few years and do feel like it gives us the most near-term upside,” Agape CEO TroyYarborough previously told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Enhabit Home Health and Hospice (NYSE: EHAB) has acquired Texas-based Caring Hearts Hospice for an undisclosed amount, adding four locations to the company’s footprint in the state. Enhabit emerged from the spinoff of Encompass Health’s (NYSE: EHC) home health and hospice segment, which completed in July. billion to $1.12

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Hospice News

JULY 10, 2023

As health care stakeholders work to improve care coordination, more hospices are exploring home-based primary care. Organizations that are delivering hospice and palliative care now are looking to the future and wanting to provide more of a full-service solution for seriously ill patients,” Singleton told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

APRIL 28, 2022

Maryland-based Hospice of the Chesapeake has penned an agreement to acquire nearby Calvert Hospice for an undisclosed amount. ” Hospice of the Chesapeake has cared for patients since 1979, prior to establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Hospice of the Chesapeake in Oct.

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Hospice News

MARCH 5, 2024

In case you missed it, Hospice News has launched a new specialty publication for palliative care professionals. Ensuring staff are educated around revisions to hospice survey processes will be key to navigating ongoing regulatory changes in the industry. Revisions to hospice surveys have been in the pipeline for the last few years.

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Hospice News

APRIL 20, 2022

Bristol Hospice has acquired Hospice Select in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for an undisclosed sum. The hospice operates more than 45 locations across 13 states, with EBITDA that exceeds $70 million, according to PE Hub. M&A advisory firm Agenda Health represented Hospice Select in the transaction. “We

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 2, 2022

A lack of culturally inclusive care and mistrust of the health system are contributing to low hospice utilization among Native Americans. Native Americans are the least likely to enroll in hospice among racial and ethnic groups. Many in that community also lack access due to geographic and financial barriers. They comprised 0.4%

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Hospice News

JULY 18, 2022

When it comes to communication and quality of care for Black patients, recent data reinforces the notion that hospices have room to grow. Our review found that Black patients with serious illness report poor-quality clinician-patient relationships and communication,” Chambers told Hospice News in an email.

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