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

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

DECEMBER 5, 2022

Debbie Jonhston is a registered nurse who founded Viriginia-based Serenity First Hospice in 2021, inspired by the care her father recieved as he reached the end of his life. With the launch of Serenity First, Johnston transitioned from her career in home health and personal care.

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Hospice News

MARCH 23, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is extending the value-based insurance design demonstration for calendar years 2025 to 2030, including the hospice component. The hospice component of VBID, also called the MA carve-in, launched in 2021 and was originally slated to complete after four years. It makes sense.

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Hospice News

APRIL 8, 2024

HopeHealth has been growing its pediatric hospice and supportive care service lines in recent years to address a range of unmet needs among seriously ill children and their families. HopeHealth provides home care, hospice, palliative and dementia care, as well as caregiver and grief support services.

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Hospice News

JUNE 14, 2023

Meanwhile, Medicare hospice spending is expected to more than double by 2032. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary also project that health care expenditures will represent 19.6% of the nation’s gross domestic product by the end of that time frame, up from slightly more than 18% in 2021.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 9, 2022

The hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) model will begin its third year on Jan. Often called the MA hospice carve-in , the voluntary demonstration is designed to assess payer and provider performance related to hospice within Medicare Advantage (MA).

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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

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired Guardian Hospice and Guardian Hospice of Oklahoma for an undisclosed amount. Guardian Hospice of Oklahoma received Medicare certification in 2015 and has since grown its presence in the state and across Texas. About 143,284 Medicare decedents utilized hospice in Texas in 2021, according to the U.S.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2023

Though evidence shows that longer hospice stays reduce costs, providers are still walking a regulatory tightrope. On one hand, longer hospice stays can lead to improved patient and family satisfaction and greater cost saving opportunities. Young told Hospice News. However, those numbers fell by nearly five days in 2021 to 92.1,

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Hospice News

AUGUST 21, 2023

Evolving network adequacy requirements within the value-based insurance design (VBID) model demonstration have some hospices concerned that Medicare Advantage payers may have narrowed views on reimbursement and access. And that’s a big concern when it comes to hospice care.” This year the U.S.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Guaranteed’s New SVP of Growth, Strategy Tech-enabled hospice startup Guaranteed has named Ryan Malone as its new senior vice president of growth and strategy. Before joining Guaranteed, Malone served as vice president of sales and partnerships at mental health provider Thriveworks since 2021.

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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

JANUARY 3, 2023

Kathy Hochul (D) has vetoed legislation that would have effectively banned new, for-profit hospices in the state. It would have prohibited the establishment of for-profit hospices in New York state and forbid current for-profit operators from increasing capacity. . Utah had the highest rate at 60.7%.

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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

JANUARY 16, 2024

Niagara Hospice CEO Retires Lockport, N.Y.-based based Niagara Hospice will soon have a new president and CEO with the upcoming retirement of John Lomeo, who has led the organization since 2000. Niagara Hospice is part of The Hospice and Palliative Care Group (HPCG), an organization that provides administrative services.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2023

The four lawmakers contend that the SFP, as currently designed, would not adequately identify poor performing hospices in need of the program. Congress mandated the SFP in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 , which contained language from the Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort Environments (HOSPICE) Act.

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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% In Fiscal Year 2022, routine home care accounted for 98.8% As many as 72.2%

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Early advance care planning can help strengthen trust between providers and patients and families, according to a recent report from Compassion & Choices and the National Hispanic Council on Aging. As with other demographic groups, hospice utilization among Hispanic, Latino and Latinx populations is low in comparison to Caucasians.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

She became a hospice nurse for By the Bay Health in 1996, then named Hospice of Marin, taking on various roles in clinical leadership throughout her more than 27-year tenure. “It Previously known as Hospice by the Bay, the organization rebranded in 2021 to reflect a broadening scope of services.

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Hospice News

MAY 17, 2024

Nevada-based 1Care Hospice, part of 1Care Health, recently acquired Reset Behavior Health for an undisclosed amount. 1Care is expanding its umbrella into the pediatric industry,” Belluomini told Hospice News in an email. “By 1Care was launched in October 2020 by a group of hospice and palliative care leaders with nursing experience.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 26, 2022

Medicare reimbursement is the lifeblood of hospice providers, and a clear understanding of policies like budget neutrality can help elucidate the payment systems that keep their businesses running. For example, CMS wouldn’t cut hospital payments to increase rates for hospices. These reductions occur within each service.

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Hospice News

JULY 17, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is conducting a small pilot program for post-payment reviews of hospice stays that exceed 90 days. CMS internal data has identified a potential area of vulnerability beginning with the second benefit period, or 91st day in hospice,” Noridian indicated in an announcement. “CMS

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 13, 2022

Most hospices are sliding into 2023 between a rock and a hard place, beset by headwinds, labor shortages and questions with no easy answers. Government oversight of hospice providers will tighten during 2023. Hospices have faced ever-intensifying scrutiny from regulators in recent years. Be ready for regulation.

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Hospice News

JUNE 9, 2023

Increasingly, both policymakers and providers are seeing potential opportunities to reform the Medicare Hospice Benefit, including the prospect of concurrent care. Driving these conversations is the need to lighten the nation’s heavy health care spend, which in 2021 reached $4.3 told Hospice News. “If

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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% This proposal ultimately jeopardizes the ability of hospices to continue providing access to appropriate, high-quality care to all Americans who need it,” the letter indicated. per diem rate increase.

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Hospice News

APRIL 3, 2024

Atlanta-headquartered Aveanna provides home health, hospice, personal care and private duty services across 33 states. The company also provides medical solutions, therapy services and durable medical equipment, among other adult and pediatric health care services.

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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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Home Care Pulse

JULY 26, 2022

– July 2021: What is the Hospice Care Index? – What did this level of oversight tell hospice agencies? Article Contents: July 2021: What is the Hospice Care Index? What did this level of oversight tell hospice agencies? July 2021: What is the Hospice Care Index?

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Hospice News

MARCH 22, 2024

McMahon ascended to the role in 2021, serving in various other positions at UnitedHealth Group since 2003, including executive vice president of enterprise operations and CEO of Optum Rx, among other management positions in finance, information technology and operations. Cannone as its new executive vice president and COO.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 19, 2023

Hospice and behavioral health care could increasingly intersect in coming years as demand for specialized care grows. But the prevalence of mental health conditions and related concerns like isolation and substance abuse mean that hospice and behavioral health providers may need to find more ways to integrate their services.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

While the hospice community has generally embraced the concept of a Special Focus Program (SFP) to address quality concerns, some are troubled by the government’ methodology for identifying providers. About a quarter of them don’t report HCI data,” Atkins told Hospice News. “A

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Hospice News

MAY 26, 2022

Trinity Health at Home recently acquired Iowa-based Above & Beyond Home Health Care and Hospice for an undisclosed sum. The two will officially join forces on July 1 in a move aimed at expanding much-needed care in local communities. Hospice utilization runs high in Iowa compared to other states.

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Hospice News

JULY 14, 2023

Paul Mastrapa becomes CEO of Interim HealthCare Jennifer Sheets is out as CEO of Interim HealthCare and Caring Brands International. Paul Mastrapa, former CEO of Help at Home, will succeed her. Mastrapa since 2021 has been an advisor and consultant to multiple health care companies. Canada and Australia.

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Hospice News

MARCH 20, 2023

Hospices are blazing trails toward growth, each provider with its own range of strategies. In 2023, the focus for many is to not only expand their core business but to spread further into the care continuum. By 2030, the hospice market’s total dollar value is expected to nearly double, reaching $64.7 billion, up from $34.5

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Hospice News

AUGUST 10, 2023

NASDAQ: AVAH) was a company mostly focused on in-home care to pediatric populations. When the Atlanta-based provider filed to go public in April 2021, however, it revealed ambitious plans to expand into the arenas of Medicare-certified home health and hospice care. “We million, a 6.5% million, a 9.7%

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Hospice News

AUGUST 15, 2022

The unique needs of families and children facing life-limiting can wear pediatric palliative and hospice care clinicians especially thin, and the potential for burnout can leave providers even more short-staffed than many already are. Even outside of hospice, caring for seriously ill children can take a mental and emotional toll.

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