Hospice News

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Recent research has uncovered some of the leading barriers preventing greater pediatric palliative care utilization across underserved communities. In addition to provider bias and historic, systemic racism issues in the United States, cost of care is among the potential barriers to receiving these consultations, the researchers indicated.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 25, 2024

National hospice utilization rates have fallen since 2020, though the total number of patients served remains consistent. The aging population continues to increase, so even as the percentage of patients served decreases, the total number of patients served increases,” Ware told Hospice News. “The In 2021, 1.71 About 47.3%

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Hospice News

MARCH 4, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will end the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) as of Dec. Often called the “hospice carve-in,” the program was designed to test coverage of hospice care through Medicare Advantage, in addition to some coverage of palliative care and transitional care.

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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

JANUARY 17, 2024

Hospice providers, industry groups and other stakeholders recently penned a letter urging Congress to improve payment infrastructures that would increase access to end-of-life care among rural populations. For some rural areas, they’re not seen as financially feasible or sustainable to larger programs,” Kuhlman told Hospice News. “So,

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Hospice News

JANUARY 24, 2024

Palliative care clinical education avenues have expanded in recent years, but providers say the well may not be filling up quickly enough to meet demand. Luke’s Hospice & Palliative Medicine’s program. Williams is also a fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM).

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Hospice News

APRIL 13, 2023

Idaho-based Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley has initiated Spanish-speaking services in an effort to reach underserved Latino patients and families. Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley is part of the Idaho Health Continuum of Care Alliance, a group of post-acute health care providers.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 23, 2022

Illinois-headquartered Unity Hospice & Palliative Care has expanded to Houston, Texas, following its acquisition of an existing license in that market. Unity is a family-owned provider established in 1992 that since then has cared for more than 30,000 patients, the company reported. currently, projections by the U.S.

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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 1, 2022

Croix Hospice has acquired Lombard, Ill.-based based Lexington Hospice Care. In addition to a spate of acquisitions, the Minnesota-based hospice provider has launched three de novos thus far in 2022. This follows six new locations they opened in 2021 and seven during 2020. . Financial terms were undisclosed.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 19, 2024

Unity Hospice and Palliative Care of Greater Houston has unveiled a five-year general inpatient (GIP) service agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Health. The hospice will provide GIP care across the health system’s four hospitals. That tends to lend toward the GIP level of care.”

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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. These markets are growing partly because of demographic trends and partly because of increasing acceptance of both palliative and hospice,” Tanquilut told Hospice News. “As billion by 2030, a rise from $34.5

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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

MARCH 15, 2024

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has recommended to Congress a freeze on hospice payment increases starting in 2025. In its annual report to Congress, MedPAC urged policymakers to eliminate hospice base-rate increases for 2025. The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC.

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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

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%

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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

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Want to read more palliative care-focused content? Subscribe to Palliative Care News today ! Recent efforts to increase transparency within Medicare Advantage may impact hospice reimbursement. With hospice carved into VBID, we’re still seeing how that’s playing out. If enacted, the proposed changes would take effect Jan.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Reimbursement pressures, workforce strains and lagging awareness represent pain points preventing greater utilization of palliative care. There are so many things that need to be addressed to improve quality and access to pediatric palliative and hospice care,” Leonard told Palliative Care News in an email.

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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

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

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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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

APRIL 17, 2023

As the demand for palliative care continues to grow, so too has the way businesses have bolstered their programs to better serve patients. Hospice News spoke with three palliative care providers that have risen to these challenges. Hospice News spoke with three palliative care providers that have risen to these challenges.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

The home health and hospice provider recently announced the leadership changes in a filing with the U.S. Ginn served in that same role before being promoted to CFO in 2017 and executive vice president in 2021. The company in June announced plans to acquire the massive home health and hospice provider Amedisys for $3.3

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Hospice News

APRIL 29, 2022

The Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been the focus of much attention among providers, and many are watching closely for the demonstration’s outcomes. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the MCCM in 2016 to explore the idea of allowing hospice patients to receive concurrent curative care.

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Hospice News

MAY 31, 2023

Penn Bay Medical Center is moving forward with plans to evolve its palliative care program. The medical center is an affiliate of the MaineHealth system and began providing hospital-based palliative care two years ago. It has since expanded into community-based serious illness care. Census Bureau.

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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. “We share a commitment of putting patients and families first by providing exceptional care focused on optimizing the quality of life, comfort and dignity of our patients.”

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Hospice News

JUNE 16, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) is seeking answers about hospice patients’ access to certain high-cost services. CMS included a series of requests for information (RFIs) in its proposed 2024 hospice payment rule. CMS is getting on board with thinking through this problem,” Hoover told Hospice News. “We

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Hospice News

AUGUST 7, 2023

Amid widespread staffing shortages, hospice and other health care workers may seek to leverage collective bargaining to secure higher wages or improved working conditions. For these reasons, a number of hospice leaders and industry groups have said that the U.S. “The Staffing is going to be a huge one,” Esparza said.

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Hospice News

JUNE 2, 2023

Hosparus Health has acquired Baptist Health Deaconess Hospice in Madisonville, Kentucky, for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 1978, Hosparus Health’s 600 employees and 500 volunteers provide care for more than 10,000 patients annually, including hospice, medical care, palliative medicine, mental health and bereavement services. “Our

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Hospice News

JUNE 22, 2023

Recent allegations that staff at HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) put pressure on patients to enter hospice dovetail with longstanding questions over how and when patients should be referred. SEIU benchmarked HCA’s hospice transfer rates against national data. It’s hard to say that you have proof. This looks really questionable.”

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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. Cape Fear LifeCare will also assist UNC by providing palliative care consultations within the hospital. About 585 died while receiving hospice care that year.

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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. The requirement mirrors a regulation that has existed for several years for home health agencies.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 19, 2024

Though the number of hospice M&A deals plummeted in 2023 compared to prior years, deals are still being made, and the industry may see a rebound in 2024. Transaction volume declined in the hospice and home-based care space in 2023, following the two record-breaking prior years. This followed its $5.4 NYSE: HUM) for $2.8

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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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