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CMMI Analysis: Palliative Care Reduces Medicare Costs, Improve Patient Satisfaction

Hospice News

Despite this potential, existing programs hit barriers created by misconceptions about palliative care among referring physicians, as well as health equity concerns, among others, according to an analysts of four payment model demonstrations carried out by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.

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CMS to Sunset Hospice VBID in 2024

Hospice News

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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How Medicare Budget Neutrality Impacts Hospice Payment

Hospice News

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 Regulation Slowing Down M&A Transactions

Hospice News

Tightened regulation in the hospice space has led to longer, more stringent diligence processes when it comes to buying and selling provider companies. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has honed in on hospice program integrity through a number of new regulations, including some in the agency’s 2024 hospice final rule.

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Why Hospice Utilization Rates Have Fallen

Hospice News

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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Hospices Stepping Up Performance on Visits-in-Last-Days-of-Life Measure

Hospice News

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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MedPAC to Congress: Freeze Hospice Rates in 2025

Hospice News

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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