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‘Upgrading’ the Medicare Hospice Benefit

Hospice News

The Medicare Hospice Benefit could use an “upgrade” to ensure greater flexibility that may be necessary to fully support patients’ needs. Wladkowski, the Larry and Patty Benz Professor and an associate professor of social work at Bowling Green State University. Wallace, the Dorothy A. Among the changes that the U.S.

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Hospices Seek Congressional Action on Staffing Constraints

Hospice News

Years after it was first introduced, hospice leaders are calling on Congress to move forward legislation that would bolster their dwindling workforce. The most significant bill in recent years is the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA), which has come before Congress time and again but has not yet been passed.

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St. Croix Hospice Leverages Predictive Analytics to Boost Quality

Hospice News

Croix Hospice recently unveiled data showing how the company leveraged predictive analytics technology to improve quality outcomes. In 2019 the Minnesota-headquartered hospice provider began utilizing a predictive analytics tool from Medalogix. Croix Hospice. Through the predictive analytics data, hospice patients at St.

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Certificate of Need Laws May Influence Hospice Quality Outcomes

Hospice News

Links exist between state certificate of need (CON) laws and hospice quality outcomes, researchers recently found. Roughly 86% of all hospices nationwide provide services in states that do not have certificate of need (CON) regulations in place, according to research from the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

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LeadingAge to Congress: Reform Hospice Benefit, Fund Palliative Care

Hospice News

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 most common comment our hospice members hear from patients and families is “why didn’t I get your services sooner?”

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How the Labor Shortage Affects Frontline Hospice Workers

Hospice News

Amid widespread staffing shortages, hospice and other health care workers may seek to leverage collective bargaining to secure higher wages or improved working conditions. For these reasons, a number of hospice leaders and industry groups have said that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 3.1%

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The Question of Palliative Care Sustainability

Hospice News

The forces driving some community-based palliative programs to shutter are two-pronged, related to financial and operational sustainability, according to Renee McInnes, CEO of NVNA & Hospice. NVNA & Hospice provides home health, hospice and community-based palliative services. It’s really the funding.