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Hospice Medical Director Receives 50-Month Prison Sentence for $150M Fraud

Hospice News

A federal judge has sentenced Jesus Virlar-Cadena, formerly a medical director for the Texas-based hospice company Merida Group, to 50 months in prison for his role in a $152 million scheme. The Texas Medical Board suspended his medical license in 2019, when he pleaded guilty to the fraud charges.

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Hospices Struggle to Balance Costs, Patient Needs in Medication Deprescribing

Hospice News

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave hospices a 3.1% Clinical practice guidelines are more clear regarding the initiation of medications, but often unclear about when discontinuation is safe and appropriate, a 2019 study in the journal Clinical Medicine indicated.

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Study: Asian Americans Most Open to Receive Emotional Support Near End of Life, Less Likely to Have Advance Care Plan

Hospice News

Understanding these perspectives can drive conversations about management of these symptoms, according to VITAS Medical Director Robert Nguyen, who worked on the study. between 2010 and 2019. of Medicare decedents who used hospice in 2018, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) reported.

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10 Hospice News ‘Hidden Gem’ Stories from 2022

Hospice News

In 2019, the organization had just 200 members. Combined, Asians, African Americans and Hispanics in 2018 represented only 20% of Medicare hospice patients, while the remaining 80% were Caucasian, according NHPCO. Vast disparities in hospice utilization exist among some groups and demographics.

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Hospice, Tech Company Partnerships Seek to Improve Length of Stay, Streamline Workflows

Hospice News

“Analyses of massive amounts of data can lead to patient insights and predictive analytics, facilitating health care interventions to occur at more appropriate times and potentially avoiding expensive medical situations for patients, payers, and providers.” according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

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5 Numbers that Shaped Hospice in 2022

Hospice News

Contributing to these declines were constraints on clinical capacity stemming from the labor shortage, as well as some instances of lower reimbursement for its home health services due to the shift of more patients towards Medicare Advantage, executives said in an earnings call. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest by Physicians Creating the CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines: Bad Faith or Incompetence?

Pallimed

This unexpectedly and undesirably increased health insurers’ medication costs, including Medicare and Medicaid (22). In response, the American Medical Association (AMA) called against widespread misapplication of the 2016 Guideline, including its embrace of hard dosing thresholds (1, 43).

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