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Partners in Care Sues HHS Over Claims Denials

Hospice News

1, 2016 and Dec. For Hagfors, the nonprofit provider lawsuit presents an opportunity not only to recoup funds but to defend its employees against OIG’s allegations. “I The lawsuit contends that the claims denials denied Partners in Care its right to procedural due process.

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Hospices Pursue Home-Base Primary Care Via HCCI Project

Hospice News

million home-based primary care visits during 2016, up from less than 1 million in 1996, the study found. million primary care visits in 2016. Patients in the United States received more than 2.2 Patients in assisted living facilities, group homes, and other facilities received 3.2

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VA Study Finds 95% Increase in Palliative Care Utilization When Patients Have Access to Social Workers

Hospice News

Researchers analyzed records for 43,200 veterans with prior hospitalization who had received primary care at a VA site between October 2016 and September 2019. Patients are more likely to receive palliative care if they can access social workers through their primary care providers, Veterans Health Administration (VA) research has found.

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Hospices Stepping Up Performance on Visits-in-Last-Days-of-Life Measure

Hospice News

CMS introduced SIA in 2016. The greatest barrier to further improvement is the ever-present workforce shortage affecting the health care industry at large and hospices in particular. Additional touchpoints with patients via telehealth is another factor contributing to improvements on the measure, Harrison said.

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Court Dismisses SouthernCare Fraud Allegations, Proceeds with Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint

Hospice News

Former SouthernCare nurse Rhonda McClinton filed a qui tam complaint against the organization in 2016, alleging that the hospice provider submitted hospice claims to Medicare for patients who were not eligible and billed for services it did not provide. She also claimed that she was fired after confronting superiors about these accusations.

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OIG Estimates $42 Million in Improper Medicare Payments for Advance Care Planning

Hospice News

Office settings accounted for 61% of all ACP billing between 2016 and 2019, according to OIG. CMS in 2016 began to reimburse physicians and other qualified Medicare health care professionals for face-to-face advance care planning discussions with patients and families. This opened the door for greater advance care planning utilization.

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Housing Insecurity a Threat to Seniors, Poses a Risk for Hospice Providers

Hospice News

The depletion of a family’s financial resources is a greater predictor of aggressive treatment at the end of life than patient preferences or demographic factors, a 2016 study concluded. But even when those supports are present and willing, the cost of caregiving can create an unsustainable situation.

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