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.

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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

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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.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 7, 2023

To meet growing demand, more outpatient palliative care clinics and programs are cropping up. Insurance companies and Medicare are also starting to recognize the cost savings and improved patient outcomes the clinics can provide. “I

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Hospice News

AUGUST 4, 2023

North Carolina-based hospice provider Four Seasons has launched a new mobile palliative care unit to reach patients in remote and rural areas. The mobile clinic will deliver care through six North Carolina counties. Patients in rural communities are often an underserved population when it comes to palliative care and hospice.

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Hospice News

JUNE 27, 2022

Individually, palliative care and social determinants programs both have the potential to improve quality of life and reduce costs — but that potential may be greater when the two are combined. Social and economic factors like these drive 40% of health outcomes, according to the Better Medicare Alliance.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 6, 2023

The palliative care space is at an inflection point at which unprecedented awareness and demand are fueling growth that could be hampered by limited reimbursement and staffing shortages. Palliative Care News spoke with a group of industry leaders about the most impactful forces that will shape the space in the coming year.

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Hospice News

JULY 20, 2022

Palliative care providers are seeking ways to improve efficiency as costs rise and the limited avenues for reimbursement remain unchanged. Payers, including Medicare, like to see providers reduce the costs of care. The palliative care program at Wisconsin-based Unity Hospice has evolved through several iterations.

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Hospice News

APRIL 3, 2024

Palliative care delivered via telehealth is effective at improving access to caregiver support. Potential reimbursement mechanisms are available to offset the costs to the health system for providing transitional palliative care to caregivers of patients recently hospitalized.”

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Improving Access to Advance Care Planning Act to the Senate designed to promote greater access to those services among Medicare beneficiaries. Yet, societal factors and poor coordination among health care providers can limit its effectiveness and utilization. Warner (D-Va.)

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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. Amedisys Inc.

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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. If this proposal makes it into the final rule, it could have a ripple effect on organizations that also provide hospice or palliative care.

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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.

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Hospice News

APRIL 13, 2023

Idaho-based Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley has initiated Spanish-speaking services in an effort to reach underserved Latino patients and families. Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley is part of the Idaho Health Continuum of Care Alliance, a group of post-acute health care providers.

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Hospice News

MAY 4, 2022

The United States lacks a robust reimbursement system for palliative care. While stakeholders work towards change, providers are developing innovative ways to work with what they have to bring this care to patients in need. PalliCare has a two-fold approach within its care and business models. Historically, the U.S.

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2024

The number of registered nurse and social worker visits during a patient’s final week is one of the seven quality measures that CMS uses to evaluate providers. Social worker visits in the last days of life also rose to 9% in 2021, up from 7% in 2020. In 2019, for example, the percentage was 66%.

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Hospice News

JUNE 12, 2023

In New Jersey, a partnership between a health services company and a nursing home is offering a new approach to long-term illness, tailoring palliative care treatment plans to individual patients. If a prior palliative care referral from a hospital exists, this continues at Laurel Brook.

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High Peaks Hospice

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

High Peaks Hospice has an immediate opening for a Hospice Social Worker in our northern catchment area. As a member of the Hospice interdisciplinary team, the primary focus of the Social Worker is to respond to the emotional and psychological needs of the patients, their families, and hospice staff. 454 Glen street.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

A group of health plans, policymakers, and insurance companies recently told the Center for Medicare & Medicare Innovation (CMMI) that they needed a standardized definition for palliative care in order to improve access. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Oncology practices have increasingly collaborated with palliative care providers — or built their own service lines — to better support cancer patients throughout their health care journeys. Integrating palliative care deeper into oncology practices “empowers” these providers to improve utilization and quality, she indicated.

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Hospice News

JUNE 21, 2023

The Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization (ACO) has leveraged a comprehensive, community-based palliative care program developed by its partner Main Line Health to reduce costs of care by $9,000 per eligible patient. The key to this was the anticipated reductions in the total cost of care.

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Hospice News

MAY 25, 2023

This article is based on a discussion with Anthony Spano, Director of Client Development at Netsmart and Nikki Davis, Vice President of Palliative Care Programs at Contessa Health. The conversation took place on April 20, 2023, during the Hospice News Palliative Care Conference.

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Hospice News

APRIL 4, 2024

Current reimbursement structures within the federally established Medicare Hospice Benefit do not sufficiently support the level of care needed in rural-based communities, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). House of Representatives’ Ways and MeansCommittee.

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Hospice News

JULY 14, 2023

Palliative care providers have a limited window into the disparities plaguing underserved populations when it comes to access and awareness of their serious illness care options, according to Nicole McCann-Davis, vice president of communications and chief health equity officer at Empassion Health.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 23, 2022

One is how can we continue to diversify our services and help more people in more ways — and second, looking at how we can reduce our dependence on Medicare reimbursement. One of the things that we’re doing also is launch our new program on social isolation and loneliness with the frail elderly. So what do we do?

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

recently introduced legislation aimed at improving access to advance care planning services among patients with serious illness. The Improving Access to Advance Care Planning Act would expand utilization of these services by removing Medicare payment barriers faced by both providers and patients.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced a bill designed to foster greater access to advance care planning (ACP) among Medicare beneficiaries. One of my biggest regrets was not having early conversations about care planning with my own mom, who suffered from Alzheimer’s for 11 years and was unable to speak for nine of those years.”.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Lawmakers have an essential role in ensuring the viability of the Medicare Hospice Benefit, according to Davis Baird, director for government affairs for hospice at the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC). One key priority for the hospice community is to secure updates to the algorithm that the U.S.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2024

The letter highlighted the unique challenges that rural and frontier hospice and palliative care providers face, and how strengthened financial support could lead to sustainable access and better care transitions for serious and terminally ill rural-based patients. These individuals are not always in the rural communities.

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Hospice News

APRIL 4, 2024

Collaborations with participants in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s (CMMI) Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Primary Care Flex demo could allow hospices to leverage their skill sets to access more patients. Hospices and palliative care providers can come to ACOs by two main avenues.

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Hospice News

MAY 30, 2023

For Center to Advance Palliative Care’s CEO Brynn Bowman, palliative care represents a fundamental shift in health care delivery as it continues to grow and make an impact on facilities and patients. health care workforce with the skills necessary to care for seriously ill patients and their families.

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Hospice News

JUNE 30, 2022

“The EdenHill residents have truly embraced us as one more option for receiving high-quality care.”. Patients have already begun receiving care through EdenHospice, which is currently awaiting Medicare certification. Hospice utilization among Medicare decedents in Texas reached 52.1%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Its technology platform connects patients and family members to palliative and hospice nurses, social workers, spiritual coordinators and other interdisciplinary staff. Guaranteed serves Medicare and Medicaid patients across five counties in southern California, including the Los Angeles region.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 28, 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! Other factors contributing to the revenue growth included an 11% increase in days-of-care and a Medicare reimbursement rate increase. “We’ve

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2022

The unit allows for expanded access to inpatient hospice care in the community during a time of increasing need, according to Ron Gicca, president of Melbourne Regional Medical Center. The compassionate palliative care services that are available to the Melbourne community are so greatly appreciated,” Gicca said in an announcement. “We

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Providers have reported shortages among social workers and nonclinical staff as well. Partnerships and affiliations can help hospices mitigate the payment reductions that will likely occur within Medicare Advantage, as health plans generally seek to negotiate for lower rates. 1, 2024 and is expected to proceed through 2030.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 18, 2024

In 2022, Helios Care served more than 580 hospice patients across four New York counties in addition to 90 palliative care patients and more than 550 bereavement care clients. Formerly known as Catskills Area Hospice and Palliative Care, the organization rebranded as Helios in 2019.

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