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. The clearest example of how this works was the 2020 rebasing of payments for the four levels of hospice care.

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Hospice News

MAY 30, 2023

Los Angeles-based Hospice Home Care recently rolled out a scholarship program for hospice aides in a move towards building career pathways and improving retention. Los Angeles County needs to hear the voices of those who provide Los Angeles hospice care to the residents of this county as they near the end of life.”

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NHPCO

MARCH 21, 2023

For Immediate Release March 22, 2023 New Research Shows Hospice Care Reduces Medicare Costs Hospice Care Contributed to $3.5 billion in savings for Medicare in 2019, while providing multiple benefits to patients, families, and caregivers. Hospice stays of six months or more result in savings for Medicare.

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Hospice News

JULY 13, 2022

More than a dozen hospice advocacy groups have called on congressional leadership to intervene in a proposed 2.7% bump in Medicare payments, which they say is insufficient in light of COVID-19 and staffing headwinds. The organizations signed a letter to party leaders in both chambers of Congress. Congress should urge [the U.S.

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Hospice News

MARCH 1, 2023

Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice (KHCH) has merged with Stillwater Hospice amid mounting financial pressures. The two Indiana-based nonprofit hospices joined forces to ensure continued access to end-of-life care in the Kosciusko County area. This falls in line with national averages that hovered at 47.8%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Uintah Home Health and Hospice patients began receiving services under the Canyon umbrella earlier this month. The home health and hospice provider is part of the home care service line of Uintah Basin Healthcare. Utah holds the highest rate of hospice utilization among Medicare decedents nationwide.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2024

The 2025 proposed hospice rule is raising some questions along with payment rates. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a 2.6% increase in hospice per diems for 2025. We know that hospice care has demonstrated $3.5 Hospice care saves Medicare roughly $3.5

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Hospice News

APRIL 12, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed 2025 hospice rule contains clarifications on which physicians may certify patients for hospice enrollment. However, federal regulations are inconsistent as to which physicians can certify a patient as being terminally ill under Medicare.”

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NHPCO

JULY 28, 2023

For Immediate Release July 28, 2023 New Research Shows Hospice Produces Better Outcomes, Lower Medicare Costs (Washington, D.C. billion in Medicare savings in 2019, while also providing multiple benefits to patients, families, and caregivers. billion less than it would have been had they not received hospice care.

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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

MAY 8, 2024

A bill currently before Congress would extend through 2026 regulatory flexibilities related to telehealth, including the ability to recertify patients for hospice care. If a hospice is undergoing a period of enhanced oversight by the U.S. It also includes some exceptions. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.)

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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 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

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

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.

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Hospice News

MARCH 12, 2024

Program integrity and an onslaught of audits are top of mind for many hospice providers in 2024. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We look forward to continuing our work with CMS and Congress to ensure an equitable and effective enforcement system that preserves access to nonprofit, mission driven hospice care.”

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Hospice News

JUNE 14, 2023

The nation’s total health care spend is expected to swell by 5.4% 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% These data from the U.S.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 21, 2023

Evolving network adequacy requirements within the value-based insurance design (VBID) model demonstration have some hospices concerned that Medicare Advantage payers may have narrowed views on reimbursement and access. And that’s a big concern when it comes to hospice care.” This year the U.S.

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Hospice News

MAY 27, 2022

These include the audit system created by Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014, and the two-tiered reimbursement for routine home care that reduced payment amounts after 60 days. Due to rising utilization, Medicare hospice expenditures increase by about $1 billion annually.

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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. Many of these hospices were also setting up shop, providing substandard care to a few patients and then selling off the license before regulators caught wind of it. This prompted the U.S.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2023

“For a hospice administrator or executive, you really have to be very focused on your length of stay data,” Young told Hospice News in a recent Elevate podcast episode. Are you in an outlier scenario with your data that Medicare contractors are looking at? Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Research around hospice care has come a long way. But data gaps exist when it comes to expanding understanding of some aspects of end-of-life care delivery. A range of researchers has amassed a growing base of data on hospice, with some common themes tied to quality outcomes, costs, length of stay and general inpatient care.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Combined, the network’s member hospices serve more than 2,200 patients and families each year across 11 counties with a workforce of nearly 300 employees. One of the founding members, Elizabeth Hospice, left the network due to divergent activities and timelines that complicated their participation.

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Melodia Hospice

JUNE 9, 2023

Continuous Care, one of four hospice care options covered by Medicare, is for terminally ill patients. This 24/7 emergency therapy is supplied to the patient’s home for a limited duration. It respects a patient’s decision to stay home by treating the crisis and managing symptoms.

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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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Traditions Health

JUNE 19, 2023

What Are the Four Levels of Hospice Care? Hospice care  is for patients who have a life threatening or terminal illness and their life expectancy is six months or less if their disease process runs its normal course. Routine Home Care Routine home  care  for hospice patients is covered by Medicare part A.

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Hospice News

JULY 21, 2023

As federal regulators intensify their focus on hospices, operators may begin seeing an influx of Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) activity. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contracts with RACs to conduct post-payment reviews designed to recover any funds that may have been overspent.

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Hospice News

MARCH 5, 2024

You can subscribe to Palliative Care News here: Subscribe today! The Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in will be carved back out by the end of this year. Among other goals, the program was designed to test coverage of hospice care through Medicare Advantage, as well as the delivery of palliative care and transitional care.

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Hospice News

MARCH 28, 2023

Hospices will need to leverage creativity to thrive in a Medicare Advantage reimbursement environment. Often called the Medicare Advantage carve-in, the hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) model is now in its third year. Hospices have new evidence at their disposal to make this case.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Hospice News sat down with providers, advocacy groups, legal experts and other stakeholders to uncover the most significant hospice regulatory trends from this year and their anticipated impacts heading into 2024 and beyond. Many established services for the purpose of selling the license at a profit or defrauding Medicare.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 3, 2023

It would have prohibited the establishment of for-profit hospices in New York state and forbid current for-profit operators from increasing capacity. . Data suggest that hospice care is underutilized in New York compared to other states, straining other elements of the health care system,” Hochul wrote in her veto.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 30, 2024

Hospices under pressure Given today’s reimbursement pressures, coupled with inflation and rising labor costs, expenses are a very real concern for hospice providers, particularly smaller organizations with tight margins. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave hospices a 3.1% reduction.

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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%

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

This includes the revamping of the hospice survey process and the establishment of a Special Focus Program slated to begin in 2024, to name a few. What we would love for our lawmakers to do is really champion the program as it exists and make sure it’s protected from threats to its payment system,” Baird told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

APRIL 12, 2023

Data is more crucial to hospice businesses than ever before when it comes to payer and referral partner contracting, compliance and building their census. But even outside of new payment models, upstream providers are looking more closely at the numbers when selecting hospice partners.

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Hospice News

MAY 1, 2023

Quality scores also can serve as a baseline for educating staff on how their roles tie into compliance and patient experiences, according to Mary Jane Ruppert, assistant vice president of clinical services, Heartland Home Care & Hospice. This includes the possibility of new health equity-related measures.

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Hospice News

JULY 28, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is giving hospices a 3.1% That will translate to a $780 million bump to hospice payments next year compared to Fiscal Year 2023, according to CMS. Jennifer Sheets, the former president and CEO of Caring Brands International and Interim HealthCare Inc., set in 2023.

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