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. But a similar move within the Medicare Hospice Benefit is unlikely. Though the is not yet final, the proposal included a 4.2%

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2022

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is developing new reimbursement pathways for palliative care. As part of that process, CMMI is applying elements of its Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM) demonstration, which ended Dec. 31, 2021, according to a new CMMI white paper. To date, the U.S.

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Hospice News

JUNE 27, 2022

Social and economic factors like these drive 40% of health outcomes, according to the Better Medicare Alliance. Health care providers, payers, and other stakeholders are increasingly paying more attention to both social determinants and palliative care, including Medicare and Medicaid. Case in point, the U.S.

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Hospice News

MARCH 1, 2024

A growing body of research touts the benefits of palliative care for patients, families, and even providers. However, when evaluated through randomized clinical trials, the results tend to lean toward mediocre. I think the measures we have, it’s not so much that they’re wrong, but they certainly are imprecise,” Dr. Kathleen M.

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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

JANUARY 24, 2023

As Medicare Advantage and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) continue to gain ground, Amedisys is positioning itself to deliver palliative care at a larger scale. Expanding its palliative care business was part of the impetus for Amediys’ acquisition of Contessa in 2021 for $250 million, Kusserow said. For Amedisys, Inc.,

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 1, 2023

A main barrier to palliative care growth in the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in is a lack of understanding of these services among beneficiaries, as well as inconsistent service delivery. When the U.S. There’s substantial variation when you look under the hood.” Last month, CMS issued results of the RAND Corp.’s

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Hospice News

JULY 13, 2022

bump in Medicare payments, which they say is insufficient in light of COVID-19 and staffing headwinds. percent in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The post Hospice Advocacy Groups Ask Congress for Action on Proposed 2023 Medicare Rates appeared first on Hospice News. Congress should urge [the U.S.

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Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2023

The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum ultimately did acquire Prospero in early 2021 and is in the process of merging the company with its Landmark subsidiary. As the demand for palliative care continues to grow, so too has the way businesses have bolstered their programs to better serve patients. Enter UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH).

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

In 2021, hospice was a $23 billion industry that made up roughly 20% of the overall U.S. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation is currently testing coverage of hospice care through Medicare Advantage with the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) program. But ongoing labor pressures remain a risk point.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

Despite the limited avenues for reimbursement, the opportunity to expand into palliative care represented a golden goose for Contessa, potentially exceeding Amedisys’ expectations when it acquired the business in 2021 for $250 million. “I Palliative is interesting because I think we’re the first home health company to take true risk.”

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Hospice News

JULY 26, 2023

The nation’s fragmented payment structures for palliative care reimbursement create opportunities for regulators to examine the facets of these different models across varied geographic areas and patient populations, according to Fred Bentley, managing director for Medicare innovation at ATI Advisory.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Only 10 new Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will offer home-based palliative care as a primarily health-related benefit for 2023, but payers may be offering those services through other programs. Among Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits, in-home support services and caregiver support saw the most year-over-year growth for 2023.

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Hospice News

MARCH 17, 2023

Despite the limited avenues for reimbursement, the opportunity to expand into palliative care represents a golden goose for Contessa, potentially exceeding Amedisys’ expectations when it acquired the business in 2021 for $250 million. “I million during the final three months of last year, up from $2 million in Q4 2021.

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Hospice News

JUNE 5, 2023

Payment, workforce pressures Reimbursement paths for palliative care can primarily be found in Medicare Part B for physician services, and also through supplemental benefits included in Medicare Advantage (MA). To a date, the nation’s health care reimbursement system lacks a federally established palliative care benefit.

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Hospice News

APRIL 13, 2023

This is a rise from 1,367 individuals served in 2021, 135 of whom were hospice patients and families, according to an annual report. In 2021 the organization had seven employees. Wood River reportedly provides care free of charge and does not bill insurance companies or Medicare. We are working with St. Census Bureau.

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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. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned the RAND Corp. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned the RAND Corp.

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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

AUGUST 26, 2022

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) supported the three-year Palliative Care Measures Project through a $5.5 In a 2021 AAHPM survey, more than 83% of 200 health care professionals indicated that they were “very or somewhat likely” to use the communication measure. A range of other stakeholders provided additional input.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 19, 2024

About 143,284 Medicare dcedents utilized the hospice benefit in Texas during 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The hospice will provide GIP care across the health system’s four hospitals. UTMB Health’s service region includes 10 cities in Texas.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 25, 2024

of all Medicare decedents received one day or more of hospice care and were enrolled in hospice at the time of death during calendar year 2021, the most recent year for which data are available, according to Alix Ware, director of health policy for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). In 2021, 1.71

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 23, 2022

More than 143,000 patients received hospice care in the Lone Star State in 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Illinois-headquartered Unity Hospice & Palliative Care has expanded to Houston, Texas, following its acquisition of an existing license in that market.

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Hospice News

APRIL 14, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) currently allows Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to cover palliative care as a supplemental benefit. Based on current trends, risk-based payment systems will likely shape the future of palliative care. The palliative care market is projected to swell during the next decade.

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2024

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). Social worker visits in the last days of life also rose to 9% in 2021, up from 7% in 2020.

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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. The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC. More than 49% of Medicare decedents enrolled in hospice care during 2022, up from 47.3% decline from 2018.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Commonly known as the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in, the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model officially launched on January 1, 2021, with 53 Medicare Advantage Plans offering the benefit in 206 counties within 13 states and Puerto Rico for 4 years ending in 2025. The difference is Medicare Advantage vs Humana VBID.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Amedisys began ramping up its ability to deliver palliative care and other forms of higher-acuity care in the home with its $250 million acquisition of Contessa in the summer of 2021. (Nasdaq: AMED) has repeatedly voiced its enthusiasm for its palliative care business in early 2023. million members overall.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 18, 2023

million people in the United States were diagnosed with cancer in 2021, while roughly 608,570 individuals died from the disease that year, according to a report from the American Cancer Society. Integrating palliative care deeper into oncology practices “empowers” these providers to improve utilization and quality, she indicated.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2024

About 18% of hospices nationwide operated in rural areas in 2021, according to a report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). About 845 hospices provided care in rural-based regions in 2021, a drop from 878 organizations in 2017, the MedPAC report found.

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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. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC.

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Hospice News

MARCH 13, 2024

Beginning in 2021, numerous reports emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. California’s Department of Justice (CDOJ) in 2021 issued a report detailing the state’s history of lax oversight. “The

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Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) review and appeals process, according to CEO Greg Hagfors. The provider recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of its founding, which preceded the establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) due to audit-related claims denials.

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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 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Hospice News

JULY 3, 2023

Rosen and Murkowski, initially tried to pass the palliative care training bill in 2019, and then again 2021. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) recently re-introduced legislation designed to expand the palliative care workforce. They also would provide primary care during their time of service with NHSC.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

For calendar year 2024, 13 Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) will participate in the program’s hospice component, providing coverage through 78 health plans in 19 states. The hospice portion, often called the Medicare Advantage carve-in, is one component of the larger VBID demonstration that includes providers from across the continuum.

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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. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recent webinar. Hospice utilization in VBID CMS launched the carve-in at the beginning of 2021, and last month issued results of the RAND Corp.’s

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its fifth and final report on the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM), which studied the effects of allowing individuals to receive hospice care without foregoing other treatments. Initially slated to complete in 2020, CMS later extended it until December 2021.

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