Hospice News

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Calls have grown louder for an overhauled design of the Medicare Hospice Benefit, but the path towards change is riddled with contrasting views over regulation, policy and payment structures. Part of the problem is that the [Medicare] Hospice Benefit is 40 plus years old. of terminal diagnoses in 2020, while cancer accounted for 7.2%.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 16, 2023

Medicare Advantage plans are connecting the dots between quality scores and care delivery costs. When choosing a hospice to work with, payers in the Medicare Advantage (MA) realm zero in on providers’ quality scores and its patient population growth potential, according to Frontpoint Healthcare CEO Brent Korte.

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Hospice News

JULY 31, 2023

Hospice care saves Medicare roughly $3.5 billion for patients in their last year of life, according to a joint report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and NORC at the University of Chicago. Additionally, the U.S.

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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

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) represent a growing opportunity for palliative care companies, and providers have a number of ways to get in on the ground floor. Along with Medicare Advantage, ACOs are one of the few avenues towards more robust reimbursement than fee-for-service models. That’s not sustainable.

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Hospice News

JULY 25, 2023

Palliative care lacks a standardized definition within current value-based reimbursement systems, making it difficult to determine the full scope of services for seriously ill patients. Palliative care services are intended to address physical, psychosocial, social and spiritual needs of seriously ill individuals.

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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. Headquartered in Agoura Hills, California, Hospice Home Care’s service region spans 30 cities in the Los Angeles area. Seniors 65 and older represent 14.6%

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Hospice News

AUGUST 17, 2023

Washington-headquartered Family Resource Home Care recently acquired personal care provider Companion Care, Inc., adding to its growing footprint in its home state. We are thrilled to announce our acquisition of Companion Care, Inc., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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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. This proposal ultimately jeopardizes the ability of hospices to continue providing access to appropriate, high-quality care to all Americans who need it,” the letter indicated. 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. Hospice utilization among Medicare decedents in Indiana reached a rate of 47.3%

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Hospice News

JANUARY 2, 2024

Fragmented health care has significant ties to adverse outcomes in patients with chronic or serious illnesses. Palliative care providers’ ability to navigate the health care system, coordinate the delivery of care, interact regularly with patients, and facilitate communication between providers can reduce this fragmentation.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

By the Bay Health and Mission Hospice & Home Care recently signed a letter of intent to merge the two California-organizations. By the Bay Health hospice, palliative and pediatric care, as well as skilled nursing home health and grief support. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Hospice News

APRIL 26, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed the implementation of hospice certifying physician Medicare enrollment requirements. CMS delayed the date to enroll in or opt out of Medicare until June 3 for physicians who certify hospice services.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 10, 2023

Expanding its palliative care business is a rising priority for Amedisys Inc., The company’s palliative care strategy rests on the back of risk-based payment models, primarily Medicare Advantage, Kusserow indicated at the J.P. We’re excited to be able to do at-risk palliative in the home. We’re moving towards value.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Though regional variations exist, some palliative care delivery challenges are nearly universal for providers across the globe. Palliative care providers worldwide stand to benefit from sharing “lessons learned” to address common pain points. Increasing goals of care conversations among patients and families is another. “It

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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 14, 2023

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. However, no standardized definition exists for “palliative care.” The rise of risk Risk-based reimbursement may be giving the palliative care market a push.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 6, 2023

A rising number of health systems and community-based providers have been making larger investments in palliative care through joint ventures. This cooperative model is proving to be a good fit for many health systems that may not have the time or resources to build their own home-based care programs from scratch.

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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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Hospice News

JUNE 30, 2023

New legislation is leading some hospices to consider what a potential community-based palliative care payment demo would mean for them — as well as what it would look like. To date, lagging reimbursement has been a barrier to home-based serious illness care, he said. “A

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Hospice News

JULY 26, 2023

Breaking down the payment barriers that impede access to palliative care will take building up a reimbursement structure that more narrowly defines service scope and sets specific parameters for quality. A couple challenges that palliative care has been dealing with is that it is not a super well-defined set of services.”

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Hospice News

MAY 8, 2024

Given the crucial role that caregivers play in families, their well-being is central to palliative care, and providers need to assist these caregivers by developing sustainable models of support for them. In the United States, more than 40 million adults provide palliative care for family members.

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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. ” Through Medicare Advantage, the U.S. This does not include special supplemental benefits for the chronically ill (SSBCI).

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Hospice News

JUNE 6, 2023

Amid a rash of financial headwinds, Forks Community Hospital is investing in a palliative care progam. This decision came after physicians at the Washington state-based hospital noticed a troubling trend: people with chronic conditions often come to the emergency room in a crisis because no one provides the care they need in the home setting.

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Hospice News

MAY 1, 2023

Recognition of palliative care’s value has been steadily gaining among stakeholders in the form of improved patient outcomes and cost savings through reduced hospitalizations. Traditional Medicare only covers physician consults and doesn’t support the full range of interdisciplinary care.

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Hospice News

JUNE 5, 2023

The palliative care field is in the midst of evolution, with reimbursement and workforce dynamics being the dominant forces influencing sustainable growth in the space. Palliative providers are focusing their greatest efforts on navigating choppy, and often lagging, reimbursement streams to meet increased demand for serious illness care.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

The Medicare Hospice Benefit should allow some concurrent care, and Congress should support greater access to palliative care, among other reforms, according to LeadingAge. The senior care advocacy organization wrote to Congressional leaders today calling on lawmakers to devote attention to improving the 40-year-old benefit.

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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

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

While hospice and home health M&A continue to burgeon, non-medical home care is starting to slip out from under their shadows. Deal volume for non-medical home care companies outstripped that for hospice or home health during the first half of the year. The case for non-medical home care investment.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a 2.6% We know that hospice care has demonstrated $3.5 billion in annual savings for Medicare, which underscores the critical importance of investing in hospice to ensure continued beneficiary access to quality end-of-life care.”

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Prospero Health has leveraged education and responsiveness to grow its palliative care business. The Tennessee-based home-based care company provides interdisciplinary services to 30,000 seniors with complex health needs in 28 states. So we really had to rethink what palliative care meant.”

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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 program was designed to test hospice coverage through Medicare Advantage (MA). Value-based care, incentivizes use of palliative care, incentivizes use of hospice.”

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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

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Three independent providers — By the Bay Health, Mission Hospice & Home Care and Hope Hospice — will merge, becoming the largest nonprofit hospice network in northern California. To be able to combine our organizations, hospice and home care, it really does expand that mission even further.

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Hospice News

MAY 8, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), they would not be able to recertify via telehealth. Also, clinicians who are not enrolled in Medicare or who validly opted out would likewise be prohibited. It also includes some exceptions. If a hospice is undergoing a period of enhanced oversight by the U.S. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.)

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

The Empath LIFE Day Center and Medical Clinic will also provide transportation to medical appointments within the post-acute health system’s network of specialists and in-home care services, along with guidance and educational services for caregivers. The hospice’s W.

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Hospice News

MARCH 6, 2024

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, LeadingAge, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation have been in communication with lawmakers in hopes of keeping the funds within the hospice program. “At for next year.

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