Hospice News

APRIL 11, 2024

Black Americans are frequently denied access to hospice and palliative care due to structural racism, and many of those communities lack sufficient information to make end-of-life care decisions, new research has found. Access to hospice and palliative care is perceived as lacking. were Hispanic; 1.8%

Palliative care 279

Palliative care Palliate Hospice End-of-life care 279

Hospice News

MAY 3, 2023

Federal regulators are cracking down on the private insurers that administer Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. In turn, that could dampen the growth of palliative care supplemental benefits in MA moving forward. Broadly, MA plans have been expanding supplemental benefits to include palliative care since 2018, when the U.S.

Medicare 246

Medicare Palliative care Palliate 2024 246

Hospice News

MARCH 4, 2024

In case you missed it, Hospice News has launched a new specialty publication for palliative care professionals. You can subscribe to Palliative Care News here: Subscribe today! Palliative care” is becoming a buzz word in health care, even if many people don’t understand the loosely defined term.

Palliative care 259

Palliative care Palliate Definition Medicare 259

Hospice News

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Palliative care is becoming an increasingly prevalent component of Programs for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) programs. PACE allows hospices to offer services to address social determinants of health , such as homemaking, transportation, home modification and others.

Palliative care 289

Palliative care Palliate Medicare Definition 289

Hospice News

APRIL 10, 2024

The Medicare Hospice Benefit could use an “upgrade” to ensure greater flexibility that may be necessary to fully support patients’ needs. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should consider is retiring the six-month terminal prognosis requirement and allowing for some concurrent care, Wallace and Wladkowski indicated.

Medicare 290

Medicare Hospice Grief Social work 290

Hospice News

DECEMBER 13, 2023

As Contessa Health pioneers a growing value-based palliative care-at-home program, they’ve encountered some learning curves when it comes to operating within a new payment system. Contessa is a subsidiary of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED), which the home health and hospice provider acquired in 2021 for $250 million.

Palliative care 305

Palliative care Palliate Social worker Medicare 305

Hospice News

JULY 14, 2022

Margin pressures from the proposed cuts to Medicare home health rates could impact palliative care and hospice. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in June released its proposed home health reimbursement rule for 2023, which included a 4.2% pay hike for hospice care in 2023.

Medicare 317

Medicare Palliative care Palliate Hospice 317

Hospice News

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Some federal legislators are working to address workforce issues in the hospice space, as well as bolstering support for family caregivers. In a fractious political environment, hospice and palliative care policy is one area in which members of both parties find common ground. Earl Blumenhauer (D-Ore.)

Palliative care 288

Palliative care Palliate Hospice End-of-life care 288

Hospice News

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Want to read more palliative care-focused content like this? Subscribe to Palliative Care News today ! Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) is pushing forward on palliative care growth in 2024 through its innovation arm, Contessa. For now, Amedisys shows no signs of slowing down on palliative care.

2024 278

2024 Palliative care Palliate Social worker 278

Hospice News

AUGUST 14, 2023

Past payment model demonstrations that included community-based palliative care offer a window into how these services could generate cost savings and improved quality. Among those demos is the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM), which ran between 2016 and 2021. An analysis from the U.S.

Palliative care 246

Palliative care Palliate Demo Hospice 246

Hospice News

JANUARY 29, 2024

Palliative care is an evolving field. Though long-established as a medical specialty, these health care services have yet to reach their full potential due to reimbursement pressures, poor awareness and staffing headwinds. Rising demand In 2024, demand will continue to rise, driven by a number of factors.

Palliative care 278

Palliative care 2024 Palliate 2030 278

Hospice News

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Aetna, a subsidiary of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is leveraging a series of new benefits that, coupled with existing palliative care programs and ongoing hospice payment demonstrations, promise to keep patients in their homes and out of facilities. Patients can access palliative care through a number of inroads.

2024 299

2024 Medicare Palliative care Palliate 299

Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

A coalition of hospice and palliative care industry groups has urged lawmakers to make billing codes for telehealth available on Medicare hospice claim forms. Hospice providers need the opportunity to reflect the full scope of care provided to patients experiencing serious illness.”.

Medicare 246

Medicare Palliative care Palliate Hospice 246

Hospice News

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

A dearth of coordination or integration between rehab teams and palliative care teams routinely forces some patients into a cycle between the hospital and the nursing home in their last year of life. Even more so, specific Medicare and Medicaid policies perpetuate this cycle.

Palliative care 306

Palliative care Palliate 2006 Medicare 306

Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2024

A primary care-led, integrated palliative program scaled across multiple geographies, care sites, and payers demonstrated higher quality care while lowering total cost of care. American health care is facing an impending crisis. offers primary care physician services nationwide.

Palliative care 287

Palliative care Palliate 2016 Medical director 287

Hospice News

APRIL 24, 2024

Many believe that the fee-for-service model does not sufficiently support a robust palliative care program, meaning that providers must turn to value-based systems for sustainable reimbursement. There’s tremendous value to patients and also tremendous economic value in palliative care.

Palliate 278

Palliate Palliative care Medicare Medical director 278

Hospice News

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Progress on growing access to quality palliative care has been challenged by hurdles in policy, payment and common misperceptions among patients and providers. Misconceptions around palliative care often involve health providers and patients and families conflating these services with hospice.

Palliative care 278

Palliative care Palliate Medicare Hospice 278

Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Though relatively few home health agencies provide palliative care, those providers and their patients can benefit from more integration of those services. Currently, the palliative care space is dominated by hospices and health systems.

Palliative care 305

Palliative care Palliate Rehabilitation services 2008 305

Hospice News

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Gentiva Health Services has committed to expanding its recently established Advanced Illness Management (AIM) palliative care model in 2024, including its unique approach to reimbursement. Once among the nation’s largest home health and hospice providers, Humana Inc. The company has its roots in the former Kindred at Home.

Palliative care 264

Palliative care Palliate Social worker Medicare 264

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.

Palliative care 263

Palliative care Palliate Medicare Webinar 263

Hospice News

JUNE 15, 2023

After more than a decade working in hospice leadership, Alli Collins came across something she had never seen before — a financially viable, all-volunteer provider that is not Medicare-certified. The organization’s interdisciplinary care model, which includes some concurrent care, is funded 100% through philanthropy.

Medicare 246

Medicare Palliative care Palliate Hospice 246

Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2022

Limited pathways to reimbursement and workforce shortages are the largest hurdles for growth among community-based palliative care programs. Sinai looked to expand its palliative care program, the health system opted to pursue partnerships with providers that have a longer history of developing payor contracts for those services.

Palliative care 340

Palliative care Palliate Hospice Geriatrics 340

Hospice News

MARCH 1, 2024

A growing body of research touts the benefits of palliative care for patients, families, and even providers. Palliative Care News spoke with experts in the field to unpack the reasons behind those results and identify the obstacles that are getting in the way of a more effective approach.

Palliative care 279

Palliative care Palliate Geriatrics Medicare 279

Hospice News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

A New Jersey state bill recently passed that establishes community-based palliative care benefits under Medicaid. A main concern is that the state’s Medicaid funding system may be strained to implement the community-based palliative coverage changes, according to New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy.

Palliative care 305

Palliative care Palliate Presentation Medicare 305

Hospice News

JANUARY 3, 2024

Lawmakers recently introduced the Value in Health Care Act, which, if enacted, could create inroads toward improved palliative care reimbursement. These changes are designed to increase participation in value-based payment programs designed to improve quality outcomes and lower costs of care.

Palliative care 289

Palliative care Palliate 2025 2015 289

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

Demo 264

Demo Palliative care Palliate Hospice 264

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.

Care coordination 264

Care coordination Care coordinator Palliative care Palliate 264

Hospice News

MARCH 20, 2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has unveiled a new primary care-oriented Accountable Care Organization (ACO) payment model that holds opportunities for hospices. If they are not already participating, organizations will also have to apply to the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

Palliative care 147

Palliative care Palliate 2025 Medicare 147

Hospice News

DECEMBER 18, 2023

The topics range from unmet staff and patient needs, financial and operational headwinds and research fueling innovative care delivery approaches. This article explored the emerging strategies in palliative care that could have promising impacts on strengthening this workforce, including education and technology initiatives.

Palliative care 278

Palliative care Palliate 2023 Medicare 278

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.

Palliative care 130

Palliative care Palliate Caregiver 2030 130

Hospice News

OCTOBER 2, 2023

A growing patient demand is fueling the emergence of integrative palliative care, a blend of traditional biomedical care for serious illness and suite of complementary therapies aimed at improving patient quality of life. That research, she believes, with further fuel interest in the integrative palliative care model. “P

Palliative care 264

Palliative care Palliate Social worker Medicare 264

Hospice News

MAY 19, 2023

Though revenue streams for palliative care are often shallow, these services can generate sustainable growth for providers who can play their cards right with payers. When it comes to palliative care, billing teams need to have a firm grasp on the different levels of codes to apply when submitting claims, she continued.

Palliative care 245

Palliative care Palliate Medicare Palliative nursing 245

Hospice News

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

This article is based on a Hospice News discussion with Daniel Schwartz, Chief Strategy Officer at Elara Caring, Devin Woodley, VP of Managed Care Contracting and B2B Sales at VNS Health, Gavin Baumgardner, VP and National Medical Director for Complex and Palliative care at Amedisys, and Anthony Spano, Director of Client Development at Netsmart.

Palliative care 239

Palliative care Palliate Hospice Medicare 239

Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Palliative care providers may be uniquely positioned to develop partnerships that support patients through the new Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model recently unveiled by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. I think it leverages palliative care, and then takes it to the next level.”

Palliative care 258

Palliative care Palliate Medicare 2024 258

Hospice News

JUNE 2, 2023

Home health care providers are increasingly recognizing the clinical value of palliative care, despite its tricky payer landscape and relatively low margins. Hospices have a much larger presence in the space, but more home health agencies are showing an interest — including companies that provide both of those services.

Palliative care 246

Palliative care Palliate Medicare 2019 246

Hospice News

MAY 12, 2023

Palliative care utilization in ovarian cancer patients can lower their chances of rehospitalizations, according to recent data. Palliative care patients were less likely to be readmitted within 90 days of a hospital stay, according to Dr. Alex Francoeur, study author. Both of those findings were significant as well.”

Palliative care 278

Palliative care Palliate Medicare 2023 278

Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2023

As the demand for palliative care continues to grow, so too has the way businesses have bolstered their programs to better serve patients. Hospice News spoke with three palliative care providers that have risen to these challenges. Enter UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). Culture has been very important to us.

Palliative care 246

Palliative care Palliate Medicare Homecare 246