Hospice News

DECEMBER 22, 2022

These cover the innovative partnerships, new technologies, pediatric care, health equity and other key developments in the hospice space. Pandemic Pushes Death Doula Awareness, Hospices Seek Strengthened Ties. Hospice Sustainability Rides Hand in Hand With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

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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 15, 2024

Though the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in is going away at the end of this year, those operators still have a role to play in value-based care. The carve-in, formally known as the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID), will expire on Dec. Hospice care saves Medicare roughly $3.5

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Hospice News

JUNE 1, 2022

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designed the Hospice Care Index (HCI) to paint a picture of care processes that occur between a patient’s admission and discharge, but as currently designed it may not be an effective measure of quality. They would have to perform better than only the lowest 10% of providers.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

When leaders at Colorado-based Pathways Hospice sat down to design its first standalone inpatient center, they sought to build a facility that embodied the core values of hospice care — an interdisciplinary approach that includes care for both the patient and the family.

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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

The nation’s total health care spend is expected to swell by 5.4% annually between 2022 and 2031, reaching $7.1 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%

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 5, 2023

A rich mix of hospice merger and acquisition (M&A) activity at the end of 2023 is fueling trends into next year. Hospice M&A activity has diverged from the frenzied pace set in recent years. This year saw a slow but significant start, with mainly smaller and fewer hospice transactions taking place.

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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

JANUARY 30, 2024

When deprescribing medications for hospice patients, providers have to navigate a complex web of factors. Medication costs are among hospices’ biggest expenses, and deprescribing some medications deemed “curative” or “unrelated” to the patient’s terminal diagnosis is a standard practice. “We Everything is based on cost.

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Hospice News

JUNE 7, 2023

Hospice leaders and lawmakers are meeting on Capitol Hill today to address the pressing issue of program integrity, among other policy priorities. Thus far, California is the only state to take action on the issue, beginning with a moratorium on new hospice licenses and an extensive audit of California’s oversight processes.

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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

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). Because say in three or four years.

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Hospice News

JUNE 20, 2023

NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired Idaho-based Bluebird Home Health, Bluebird Hospice and Bluebird Home Care for an undisclosed sum. Pennant has its sights on multiple potential transactions across its hospice, home health and senior living business lines, the company has indicated in earnings calls. Census Bureau.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 10, 2024

Moving into 2024, more hospices see joint ventures or similar partnerships to be a major growth engine. Nearly half of 143 respondents to Hospice News’ 2024 Outlook Survey , conducted with Homecare Homebase, said that joint ventures and partnerships were the growth tactics they planned to pursue the most this year.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

The four largest hospice industry organizations have been working to present a united front to address widespread program integrity issues. A large contingent of these companies were established with the purpose of selling the license at a profit, with little concern for patient care.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Hospice of the Chesapeake Unveils New Supportive Care Facility Maryland-Hospice of the Chesapeake has revamped its inpatient facility into a comprehensive care and community support center. Hospice of the Chesapeake provides services in four west coast Maryland counties. Construction began in the spring of 2022.

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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 17, 2023

Home health and hospice provider Enhabit, Inc. He most recently served as a partner at Bradley, Arant, Boult, Cummings LLP, where he provided legal advice to health care, banking and environmental companies, among others. Enhabit plans to open 10 hospice de novos each year in its existing home health markets.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 19, 2023

Four national hospice and senior care industry groups have called on Congress and the U.S. The proposed list of measures outlined in Hospice Program Integrity aimed to create more effective oversight. “A A lot of eyes are looking at hospice at this point in time.

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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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Hospice News

JANUARY 3, 2023

Today’s health care environment is flooded with data, but hospice leaders should include three types of indicators in mind as they assess their performance. Numbers like costs-per-day, payer-specific margins, and measures of community support can paint a picture of an organization’s position, executives told Hospice News.

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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

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

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Staffing issues have increasingly been at the root of leading causes behind shuttered hospice programs nationwide. Demographics are pushing up demand for end-of-life care amid long-standing staffing shortages in hospice. RoboToaster, SmugMug RoboToaster, SmugMug Joel Wherley at the 2022 ELEVATE Conference.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 25, 2022

Buyers in a hot hospice M&A market are bringing compliance under a microscope as regulators keep a tight watch. All hospice transactions undergo some type of compliance review. But there’s nothing routine about these reviews in today’s current hospice regulatory environment. This includes the U.S.

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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

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

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

JULY 25, 2023

Data are reshaping the health care space, and hospice is no exception. Data has played a large role in the ability to gauge the impact of end-of life care. Hospice providers have needed a window into access and utilization, as well as how lawmakers are shaping policies around health care.

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Hospice News

JUNE 29, 2022

Hospice and palliative care providers will need to leverage a robust suite of performance data in negotiations with Medicare Advantage plans. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires MA plans to ensure they are working with providers of high-quality care. MA plans] have to have a network of high-quality providers.

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Hospice News

APRIL 11, 2023

Hospices are leveraging predictive analytics to get a clearer picture of their performance amid regulatory pressures. Hospices have relied on data to enhances their ability to assess the quality and quantity of bedside care delivered during a patients’ final days.

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Hospice News

MAY 6, 2022

The State of New York’s recently approved budget for Fiscal Year 2023 required that home care and hospice aides be paid at least $2 more than the state’s $15 standard minimum wage. While these workers are among the lowest paid in health care, this could put providers in a bind without corresponding increases to reimbursement.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 22, 2024

Social workers have an increasingly important role to play in breaking down barriers among underserved populations, including misconceptions about hospice that can deter or dampen utilization. Gaines has worked in the hospice field for more than 15 years. There were 143 respondents in total.

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Hospice News

JUNE 21, 2023

Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced plans to launch a new audit that will focus on general inpatient hospice services. Through the audit, OIG will determine whether hospice providers that billed for general inpatient care complied with Medicare requirements.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Understanding payer priorities in defining the scope of quality is vital for hospices to thrive not only in traditional Medicare, but also in today’s value-based reimbursement climate. The nitty gritty details of data tracking and management matter when it comes to ensuring both a healthy bottom line and quality patient care.

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Hospice News

JUNE 27, 2023

As more hospices engage with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, they may be able to learn from the experiences of some home health providers. Historically, MA has not covered hospice. Everyone needs access to the home and what it provides. For hospices, this includes performance on quality measures required by the U.S.

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