Hospice News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Hospice providers will be looking to Congress in 2024 to address issues related to program integrity, quality improvement and industry-wide workforce pressures. As legislative efforts develop, hospices may want to focus their attention on a few key legislators. We don’t have confidence in the algorithm that they proposed.

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Hospice News

JULY 13, 2022

More than a dozen hospice advocacy groups have called on congressional leadership to intervene in a proposed 2.7% bump in Medicare payments, which they say is insufficient in light of COVID-19 and staffing headwinds. CMS in April released the 2023 proposed payment rule for hospice providers, including the 2.7%

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Hospice News

MARCH 15, 2024

Documentation errors and a fragmented health system pose the greatest risks for adverse drug events among hospices. McPherson also serves on the board of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). They also need to know which side effects are more concerning and should prompt a call to the hospice.”

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Hospice News

MAY 8, 2024

A bill currently before Congress would extend through 2026 regulatory flexibilities related to telehealth, including the ability to recertify patients for hospice care. If a hospice is undergoing a period of enhanced oversight by the U.S. A range of stakeholders in the hospice space have voiced support for the legislation.

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Hospice News

JULY 3, 2023

The two lawmakers, along with others, also brought forth a second bill designed to ensure that hospice patients who need blood transfusions can receive them. Rosen and Murkowski, initially tried to pass the palliative care training bill in 2019, and then again 2021. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.)

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Recent research has uncovered ties between improved hospice utilization rates among patients receiving home health services. Researchers from New Jersey-based Rutgers University’s School of Nursing have found that patient preferences leaned toward home-based hospice services following home health experiences.

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Hospice News

MAY 27, 2022

Regulators have been zeroing in on longer lengths of stay in hospice, but patients with dementia may be caught in the crossfire. . Two policy changes have corresponded with reductions in hospice enrollment among dementia patients, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found.

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Hospice News

JUNE 8, 2023

senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would direct the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a palliative care-specific payment model demonstration. Additionally, some Medicare Advantage plans offer palliative care as a supplemental benefit. The bill’s sponsors include Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.),

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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

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 27, 2022

Social and economic factors like these drive 40% of health outcomes, according to the Better Medicare Alliance. The interdisciplinary nature of palliative care, especially the inclusion of social workers, positions palliative care nicely to help to address the myriad needs that people have,” Maxwell told Hospice News. “The

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Hospice News

APRIL 16, 2024

Calls are growing louder in support of increased accreditation organization oversight that could help curb fraudulent activity in the hospice space. Rising concerns about maleficence among accredited hospice organizations was a leading reason that CMS cited for the proposed increased oversight.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

Limiting hospice access for dementia patients is likely to increase overall health care costs at the end of life, according to recent research. During the past decade, Medicare beneficiaries with dementia who utilized hospice had lower overall health care costs than those who did not, according to the Health Affairs study.

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Hospice News

JUNE 2, 2023

Hospices have a much larger presence in the space, but more home health agencies are showing an interest — including companies that provide both of those services. based NHPCO is the largest membership organization for hospice and palliative care providers. Oftentimes, palliative care is conflated with hospice care services.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Croix Hospice recently unveiled data showing how the company leveraged predictive analytics technology to improve quality outcomes. In 2019 the Minnesota-headquartered hospice provider began utilizing a predictive analytics tool from Medalogix. Croix Hospice. Through the predictive analytics data, hospice patients at St.

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Hospice News

MARCH 13, 2024

As hospice program integrity remains in the spotlight, California remains the only state to take action on curbing the problem. Beginning in 2021, numerous reports emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been gradually implementing changes to the hospice survey process and enforcement remedies, including civil monetary penalties in some instances. The monetary penalties were among seven enforcement remedies introduced through the HOSPICE Act and subsequent CMS rules.

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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

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Only 10 new Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will offer home-based palliative care as a primarily health-related benefit for 2023, but payers may be offering those services through other programs. Among Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits, in-home support services and caregiver support saw the most year-over-year growth for 2023.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 26, 2023

End-of-life doulas (EOLDs) and community health workers can add an additional layer of support that can help hospices improve connections and outcomes among patients and families. The human-based doula support is best positioned as part of value-based, at-risk entities or hospice per diems.

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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

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

A research team led by Qinjin Fan, senior scientist, health services research at the American Cancer Society, examined National Cancer Database data for more than 333,000 adults who had been newly diagnosed with stage IV cancer in 2018 and 2019 in the contiguous United States. Health outcomes are unequal. The post U.S.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 21, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) forthcoming Special Focus Program (SFP) for hospices. As an industry, we are committed to providing quality, patient- and family-centered care and want the SFP to succeed in helping struggling hospices improve the care they are providing,” the organizations wrote in a letter to CMS.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

The researchers examined hospitalization statistics for 10,323 deceased patients from the National Inpatient Sample between January 2016 to December 2019. In addition, Medicare patients were the least likely to receive palliative care compared with those who had private insurance or Medicaid.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 22, 2022

These cover the innovative partnerships, new technologies, pediatric care, health equity and other key developments in the hospice space. Pandemic Pushes Death Doula Awareness, Hospices Seek Strengthened Ties. In 2019, the organization had just 200 members.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 16, 2023

Researchers analyzed records for 43,200 veterans with prior hospitalization who had received primary care at a VA site between October 2016 and September 2019. They found a 95% increase in hospice or palliative utilization among veterans served by VA providers participating in the agency’s Social Work Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT).

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Patients with dementia are less likely to receive hospice in their last month of life than those who have other diagnoses, 12.5% The Medicare Hospice Benefit initially was designed around the needs of cancer patients, but now the number of patients with other diagnoses is growing — some with less predictable disease patterns.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 18, 2024

Helios Care is working to change the face of hospice in its update New York service region, with a new partnership with the Bassett Healthcare Network as a cornerstone of its strategy. Formerly known as Catskills Area Hospice and Palliative Care, the organization rebranded as Helios in 2019.

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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 25, 2023

Effective May 1, the North Carolina-based hospital UNC Health Southeastern (UNC) will transfer ownership of its community-based hospice operations to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare. The hospital will continue to offer inpatient hospice services. About 585 died while receiving hospice care that year. Census Bureau.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

The four largest hospice industry organizations are urging congressional lawmakers to mandate changes to the Special Focus Program (SFP) currently set to begin in 2024. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week issued its 2024 home health payment rule , which contained several hospice provisions.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The four lawmakers contend that the SFP, as currently designed, would not adequately identify poor performing hospices in need of the program. Nearly 40% of hospices have not been surveyed within the three year timeframe, the agency reported.

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Hospice News

APRIL 7, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking answers from the hospice community — including some around utilization patterns and non-hospice spending. The recently proposed 2024 hospice payment rule contained a 2.8% of hospice days and 93.7% As many as 72.2% As many as 72.2%

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NHPCO

JULY 28, 2023

For Immediate Release July 28, 2023 New Research Shows Hospice Produces Better Outcomes, Lower Medicare Costs (Washington, D.C. billion in Medicare savings in 2019, while also providing multiple benefits to patients, families, and caregivers. Hospice made that happen for mom, for me, and my family.”

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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. CMS states.” million annually.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 8, 2022

As the hospice community takes its first steps into value-based reimbursement, stakeholders have an opportunity to re-examine elements of the Medicare Hospice Benefit that may be outdated, according to some providers. The hospice benefit became a formal part of Medicare in 1983. Initially, the U.S.

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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. In 2019, LifeTouch was in the red for a similar amount.

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