Hospice News

APRIL 8, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2025 proposed hospice rule contained requests for information (RFIs) that could signal changes in the agency’s thinking on key issues. Through RFIs, CMS tries to take the pulse of providers’ positions on certain questions that could impact the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

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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. I’m a pediatrician.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 31, 2024

The Texas-based home health and hospice company VitalCaring Group was built largely through acquisitions, and the company expects to step up that strategy in 2024 with an emphasis on hospice. The big question mark right now is what home health and hospice multiples are going to look like. Not a lot right now.

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Hospice News

MARCH 21, 2024

Members of Congress are raising questions about the continued Medicare certification for new hospices in areas rife with fraud. Though he pledged more detailed responses at a later date, Becerra told lawmakers that CMS is certifying hospices in markets where there is a need identified in the community. “I Michelle Steel (R-Calif.)

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Hospice News

JANUARY 8, 2024

Private equity firms in the hospice space are adapting their “roll-up” strategies as economic uncertainties persist. While PE firms are not abandoning the hospice space, they are slowing their momentum, according to Mark Kulik, senior managing director for the M&A advisory firm The Braff Group.

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HopeHealth

AUGUST 16, 2022

Attleboro, MA — According to patients, families and caregivers in Massachusetts, HopeHealth’s hospice care and HopeHealth Community VNA’s home health care are among the nation’s best. In 2021 in the Bay State, HopeHealth and HopeHealth Community VNA ranked in Read More.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Implementation of the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been challenging for both payers and providers, though a recent analysis indicates that it may get easier over time. to conduct the analysis of the program, formally called the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID).

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 17, 2023

Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice has signed a memorandum of understanding to affiliate with Virginia-based Blue Ridge Hospice. The move could signal the start of a new hospice collaborative in the mid-Atlantic region. Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice is headquartered in Maryland. “We

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Hospice News

MARCH 26, 2024

Though many expect a hospice M&A rebound in 2024, the scales are tipping in favor of home health companies among buyers. After 2023’s slump, PE firms have been sitting on more than $800 million in dry powder, according to data shared with Hospice News by The Braff Group. But additional data point to a resurgence.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 13, 2023

VITAS Healthcare Expands Hospital-Based Inpatient Hospice Center Chemed Corp. NYSE: CHE) VITAS Healthcare recently expanded its inpatient hospice care unit at the Florida-based Broward Health Medical Center. Miami-based VITAS has provided community- and facility-based hospice care in the Broward County area since 1980.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 6, 2023

The presence of private equity firms in the hospice arena has expanded exponentially during the past several years. Only three hospice M&A transactions occurred during the third quarter of 2023, down from eight in Q2. This is down from 11 in Q3 2022 and 18 in the same period in 2021.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 24, 2024

has acquired Superior Home Health and Superior Hospice of Texas. Combined, Superior’s home health and hospice businesses operate seven locations that serve 50 Texas counties and more than 500 cities. ” Hospice utilization in Texas runs high, with 143,284 Medicare decedents using these services in 2021, according to the U.S. .

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Florida-based Big Bend Hospice has unveiled a new inpatient hospice unit on the third floor of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH). Most Americans want to spend their last moments at home, surrounded by their loved ones,” said Dr. Deborah Morris, chief medical officer for Big Bend Hospice, said in a statement. Census Bureau.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 26, 2024

Rebranding a hospice company following a merger or acquisition is a more complex process than it may seem at first blush. While consolidation slowed in 2023, many industry observers expect a rebound in 2024, though perhaps not to the record-breaking levels seen in 2021.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Hospice of Northwest Ohio is buying the operations of ProMedica Ebeid Hospice Residence. ProMedica’s Ebeid Hospice Residence is a 12-bed inpatient facility that opened in 2008, attached to ProMedica’s Flower Hospital campus. The purchase gives Hospice of Northwest Ohio an inpatient facility in Sylvania, Ohio. “We

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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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HopeHealth

DECEMBER 30, 2021

HopeHealth recaps its top 5 most popular blog stories of 2021. Topics included family love and empathy, end-of-life spiritual questions, the science of hospice care, pandemic myths and the nursing profession. The post What were the top 5 stories of HopeHealth’s 2021 blog? appeared first on HopeHealth.

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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

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Recent efforts to increase transparency within Medicare Advantage may impact hospice reimbursement. This is another step in the administration’s goals that attempt to make sure Medicare Advantage plans are being held accountable,” Banach told Hospice News. With hospice carved into VBID, we’re still seeing how that’s playing out.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

After 75 years of service, Georgia-based hospice provider Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) has its sights set on the future. Founded in 1948, the organization was the first home-based care provider to operate in Georgia, and in 1975 launched the state’s first hospice program. Seniors represented 14.7% Seniors represented 14.7%

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Hospice News

JANUARY 25, 2024

A new report is casting doubt on the heightened regulatory efforts seeking to curb fraud, waste and abuse from hospice agencies in select states. Published Thursday, a ProPublica investigation found that new hospices in California are still receiving Medicare certification amid the increased regulatory scrutiny around program integrity.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Hospice operators in 2024 are navigating a rapidly transforming environment. The prior three years have laid the groundwork for change, particularly in the regulatory space as well as gradual migration towards value-based reimbursement and in tandem, the proliferation of business lines beyond hospice.

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Hospice News

MAY 25, 2023

Massachusetts-based Advanced Home Care has acquired Dignity Hospice Care for an undisclosed amount. The buyer company’s CEO Art Kalenjian will now take the helm at Dignity Hospice. The first patients at the newly acquired Dignity Hospice were able to access the new hospice program in May, according to the press release.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 22, 2023

Transaction volume declined in the hospice and home-based care space in 2023, following the two record-breaking prior years. Only three hospice deals took place in the third quarter of this year compared to 11 in Q3 2022 and 18 in the same period in 2021, according to data from the M&A advisory firm The Braff Group.

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2024

Three such organizations currently have deeming authority for hospices, The Joint Commission, the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) and Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP). In 2022, for example, CMS revamped the hospice survey process as mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

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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. Graham went on to acquire Residential Hospice in 2014.

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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

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Allowing patients to receive concurrent hospice and curative care reduces health care costs and improves quality. Initially slated to complete in 2020, CMS later extended it until December 2021. We really didn’t find subgroups that were not benefiting from the model,” Kranker told Hospice News. “We

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Hospice providers are increasingly focused on memory care settings and physician offices as referral sources. Though many hospices see facility-based care as their primary referral engines, a growing base of providers are seeking ties to community-based organizations to increase access and utilization this year. Among those, roughly 6.7

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

Assessing clinician satisfaction and streamlining onboarding can pay off for hospices when it comes to staff retention. Hospices have poured dollars into retention amid widespread workforce shortages exacerbated by the pandemic. We know that satisfied staff make satisfied patients,” Hamilton Fried told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Over time, Medicare Advantage plans will likely have a greater presence as hospice payers, and now is the time for providers to build relationships those organizations. Originally slated to end in 2024, CMS recently extended the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) to 2023. million beneficiaries.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Providers see sustainability and expanded service growth as main draws to participating in the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in. The main takeaway at this point we’re seeing is that participation grows overall, but also seeing that the utilization of the components services remains somewhat low as it was in 2021,” Driessen said. “On

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Hospice News

APRIL 2, 2024

Hospice and home health provider Charter Healthcare, a portfolio company of Pharos Capital, recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The petition for bankruptcy was filed in the Federal District Court of Delaware in late January, according to documents obtained by Hospice News. No public announcement was made.

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Hospice News

JULY 18, 2023

Hospice & Community Care has inked a deal to affiliate with Hospice of Central Pennsylvania. Joining forces will also allow the two Pennsylvania-based nonprofit hospice and palliative care providers to realize cost-savings potential when it comes to purchasing durable medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies.

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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

DECEMBER 21, 2023

The hospice and senior care provider Helios Care is partnering with the integrated health system Bassett Healthcare Network to bring more extensive access to hospice and palliative care to patients in central New York. Formerly known as Catskills Area Hospice and Palliative Care, the organization rebranded as Helios in 2019.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 3, 2023

Houston Hospice is opening up its inpatient unit for use by other providers. Other hospices will soon be able to admit patients to the company’s unit in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. They will be able to coordinate with Houston Hospice and deliver General Inpatient Care (GIP), helping to avoid hospital readmissions.

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