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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. 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.

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Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Less Likely to Receive Aggressive End-of-Life Care

Hospice News

Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries are less likely to receive intensive treatments or burdensome transfers during the last six months of life compared to those in traditional Medicare, a new study has found. For the study, researchers examined Medicare claims data for more than 1 million patients who died between 2016 and 2018.

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NHPCO Speaks Out on 2025 Proposed Medicare Hospice Rates

Hospice News

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in March issued its 2025 proposed hospice rule, which if finalized would include a 2.6% Most hospices also do not have a diversified payer mix and are dependent on the Medicare Hospice Benefit. “We The proposed 2.6% increase in the per diem base rate.

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Palliative Care, Health Equity Growing in Medicare Advantage

Hospice News

Reimbursement for community-based palliative care is gaining ground in the Medicare Advantage realm. Palliative care is among the wide range of supplemental benefits that exist within the Medicare Advantage payment landscape. This is a rise from 180 MA plans in 2023 offering palliative services and 64 MA plans in 2020.

Medicare 265
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CMMI Analysis: Palliative Care Reduces Medicare Costs, Improve Patient Satisfaction

Hospice News

Despite this potential, existing programs hit barriers created by misconceptions about palliative care among referring physicians, as well as health equity concerns, among others, according to an analysts of four payment model demonstrations carried out by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.

Medicare 318
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Medicare Making Fewer Improper Payments to Hospices

Hospice News

Medicare fee-for-service programs made $31.23 of improper payments from Medicare in 2023, down from 12% in 2022, according to a new report from the U.S. The post Medicare Making Fewer Improper Payments to Hospices appeared first on Hospice News. Hospices received nearly 5.4% Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).

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Longer Hospice Stays Lead to Larger Medicare Cost Savings

Hospice News

All told, hospice care — regardless of length of stay — saves Medicare approximately $3.5 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. The post Longer Hospice Stays Lead to Larger Medicare Cost Savings appeared first on Hospice News. billion for patients in their last year of life, a 3.1%

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