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Hospice Medical Director Receives 50-Month Prison Sentence for $150M Fraud

Hospice News

A federal judge has sentenced Jesus Virlar-Cadena, formerly a medical director for the Texas-based hospice company Merida Group, to 50 months in prison for his role in a $152 million scheme. The Texas Medical Board suspended his medical license in 2019, when he pleaded guilty to the fraud charges.

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Medical Director Dr. Lauren Templeton: How Engaged Hospice Physicians Can Drive Quality, Compliance

Hospice News

Templeton now is a hospice physician consultant at Weatherbee Resources as well as medical director for Texas-based Hendrick Hospice Care. In both of these aspects of her work, she has become focused on physician engagement in the hospice space and the ways providers can maximine the value of their medical staff and partners.

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2025 Proposed Rule Seeks to Clarify Physician Certification of Hospice Patients

Hospice News

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed 2025 hospice rule contains clarifications on which physicians may certify patients for hospice enrollment. The CoPs require that a hospice medical director or physician designee review patient clinical information and provide written certification of their terminal illness.

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Transparency Essential to Hospice Compliance in 2024

Hospice News

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its home health rule for 2024 containing a new policy that will require anyone who holds 5% ownership or more in a hospice to submit a criminal background check, including fingerprints. On Wednesday, the U.S. They’re also providing clarification around what a ‘managing employee’ is.

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Study: Asian Americans Most Open to Receive Emotional Support Near End of Life, Less Likely to Have Advance Care Plan

Hospice News

Understanding these perspectives can drive conversations about management of these symptoms, according to VITAS Medical Director Robert Nguyen, who worked on the study. Nearly half (41%) of Asian Americans surveyed indicated that they knew the type of end-of-life care they wished to receive, but only 7% had documented these goals.

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When FCA Cases Result in Criminal Charges

Hospice News

Criminal FCA cases often involve issues related to kickback schemes in which hospices billed Medicare for services that patients either weren’t eligible for, or never received. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Be very careful in the way you set up those arrangements.”.

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Voices: Deanna Heath, VP of Hospice and Palliative Care Services, KanTime

Hospice News

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.