Hospice News

MAY 1, 2023

On June 1, LifeTouch Hospice will merge with Arkansas Hospice. Both hospices are owned and operated by the SHARE Foundation, a nonprofit, faith-based organization. The hospice last year served 430 patients in a five-county region of Arkansas. Meanwhile, Arkansas Hospice has fared better.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Agape Care Group has expanded into Alabama and Louisiana with the acquisition of Journey Hospice. Both [Alabama and Louisiana] are tremendous markets with compelling demographics and strong workforces,” Agape CEO Troy Yarborough told Hospice News. “We Hospice utilization among Medicare decedents in Alabama reached 47.4%

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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. I’ll say the obvious, racism. were Hispanic; 1.8%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

The home health and hospice provider recently announced the leadership changes in a filing with the U.S. Ginn began leading financial teams at Amedisys in 2007, while Guidroz previously served as senior vice president of accounting at Amedisys since June 2018. VITAS Names New VP of Hospice Chemed Corp.

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2022

Recent research from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in New Jersey has revealed gaps in hospice referrals and palliative care consultations among underserved patient populations in the state. Racial divides have proliferated access to hospice services nationwide. were Hispanic; 1.8% were Asian; and only 0.4% were Native American.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries are more likely to enroll in hospice from a community setting than patients in traditional fee-for-service programs. million patients who elected hospice in the last 90 days of life during the years 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018. Years prior to 2018 showed similar patterns.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Members of Congress are seeking answers from federal regulators on hospice program integrity as industry advocacy groups call for further action. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), asking for the agency to brief them on fraud and abuse within the hospice benefit. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)

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Hospice News

JUNE 7, 2023

Hospice leaders and lawmakers are meeting on Capitol Hill today to address the pressing issue of program integrity, among other policy priorities. Thus far, California is the only state to take action on the issue, beginning with a moratorium on new hospice licenses and an extensive audit of California’s oversight processes.

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Hospice News

APRIL 20, 2022

Bristol Hospice has acquired Hospice Select in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for an undisclosed sum. The hospice operates more than 45 locations across 13 states, with EBITDA that exceeds $70 million, according to PE Hub. M&A advisory firm Agenda Health represented Hospice Select in the transaction. “We

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Hospice News

JUNE 2, 2022

Supreme Court may take up a False Claims Act (FCA) case involving Georgia-Based Bethany Hospice & Palliative Care LLC, despite indications from the U.S. The case comes at a time when regulators are intensifying scrutiny on hospice providers, seeking to root out those who admit patients that may not truly be eligible for the benefit.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 17, 2022

As with other demographic groups, hospice utilization among Hispanic, Latino and Latinx populations is low in comparison to Caucasians. Latino patients are more likely to die without receiving hospice care or even information about these services, the report indicated. “We Hispanics made up 6.7% Hispanics made up 6.7%

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Hospice News

JUNE 15, 2022

An overwhelming majority of hospice providers have seen costs of patient care rise 3% to 10% since 2019, and many expect further increases next year. The hospice advocacy group NHPCO is now asking the U.S. Medicare covers close to 90% of hospice organizations’ patient care revenue.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 2, 2022

A lack of culturally inclusive care and mistrust of the health system are contributing to low hospice utilization among Native Americans. Native Americans are the least likely to enroll in hospice among racial and ethnic groups. Many in that community also lack access due to geographic and financial barriers. They comprised 0.4%

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Hospice News

MAY 20, 2022

have reintroduced the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA), designed to bolster the field’s shrinking workforce with federal support. . If enacted, PCHETA would support hospice and palliative care training programs for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and chaplains. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Hospice provider Agape Care Group has acquired GHC Hospice for an undisclosed sum, furthering the company’s goal of multistate expansion through the Southeast. We’ve been laser focused in the Southeast over the last few years and do feel like it gives us the most near-term upside,” Agape CEO TroyYarborough previously told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

JUNE 30, 2022

Texas-based senior living provider EdenHill Communities recently expanded to offer hospice services. The continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is located on a 27-acre campus, in which eligible residents are now able to access in-house hospice services. The company previously outsourced hospice services for residents.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Improved patient and staff satisfaction are among the most significant returns on investment for hospices that are pouring greater resources into trauma-informed training. This is according to Amber Ash, pediatric hospice and palliative care social worker at Ohio-based Hospice of the Western Reserve.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 16, 2024

The study took place between March 2018 and November 2018. The post Automated Orders Improve Palliative Care Access appeared first on Hospice News. These patients often experience emotional distress, breathlessness, anxiety, pain and other symptoms that palliative care can help ameliorate.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 30, 2022

Michigan-headquartered Residential Hospice has acquired Comfort Hospice in Missouri and Grace Hospice in Ohio for undisclosed amounts. Residential purchased the two hospices from health care company U.S. Medical Management will retain its hospice locations outside of St. Hospice utilization in Missouri reached 50.2%

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Hospice News

APRIL 8, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2025 proposed hospice rule contained requests for information (RFIs) that could signal changes in the agency’s thinking on key issues. Through RFIs, CMS tries to take the pulse of providers’ positions on certain questions that could impact the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

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Hospice News

JUNE 23, 2023

The Illinois Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (IL-HPCO) has penned a three-year association management contract with The HAP Foundation to provide counsel and operational support. She was previously on the organization’s board of directors between 2018 and 2022, serving as chair for part of that time. “IL-HPCO

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Two hospices have lost the battle against workforce shortages, with one halting some of its service lines and another shutting down altogether. Hospice and Home Care of Juneau shutters. Alaska-based Hospice and Home Care of Juneau (HHCJ) recently announced its closure, citing high staffing costs and lack of clinicians.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Justice Department has indicted three individuals who are linked to California hospices on alleged False Claims Act violations, among other charges. Karen Sarkisyan, Gayk Akhsharumov, and Babken Chalkadryan, of San Gabriel Hospice & Palliative Care and Broadway Hospice were each charged in the U.S

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 5, 2022

Croix Hospice has been on a quest to conquer the Midwest through acquisitions and de novos. The company today announced its purchase of Adaptive Hospice from Help at Home, which brings St. The hospice provider is a portfolio company of the private equity firm H.I.G. Croix Hospice President and CFO Stephen Phenneger. “We

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Hospice News

JUNE 1, 2022

In enacted, the recently reintroduced Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA) could make a dent in the recruitment barriers that hospices keep hitting. Hospice] has to become a part of the education of medical students, nursing and social workers at large,” Lee told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2022

Francis Reflections Lifestage Care recently opened a new inpatient hospice care center inside the Melbourne Regional Medical Center. A swelling demand for hospice in the community spurred the unit’s development. We are thankful the community will now have access to hospice care close to home to service the growing need.”.

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Hospice News

APRIL 28, 2022

Maryland-based Hospice of the Chesapeake has penned an agreement to acquire nearby Calvert Hospice for an undisclosed amount. ” Hospice of the Chesapeake has cared for patients since 1979, prior to establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Hospice of the Chesapeake in Oct.

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Hospice News

MARCH 22, 2023

When retiring hospice nurses are ready to pass the torch, often no one is there to take it. A dearth of nursing educators is contributing to hospice workforce shortages, leading providers to compensate by expanding in-house training programs. Currently, nursing schools and hospices are experiencing some of the same difficulties.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reduce the aggregate cap for hospice payments by 20% in 2024. The commission has yet to vote on the recommendations, but MedPAC has called for similar cuts annually since 2018. of hospices exceeded the cap, MedPAC estimated. To date, Congress has not implemented these reductions.

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Hospice News

JUNE 26, 2023

Palliative care patients who receive psychological, emotional and spiritual support are more likely to elect hospice when they become eligible. Researchers in Israel studied 180 hospitalized cancer patients between November 2018 and March 2020. These outcomes directly bear on improved quality of life and reduced costs.”

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Hospice News

AUGUST 16, 2022

(NASDAQ: PNTG) has purchased California-based Ardent Hospice and Palliative Care in the San Diego area for an undisclosed amount. Ardent, which also offers home health care, serves between 20 and 50 hospice patients per day, according to National Hospice Locator. Hospice utilization reached 46.1% million, up 5.4%

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Hospice News

APRIL 13, 2023

Justice Department has indicted Eduardo Lopez, a former hospice executive and current senior vice president of a private equity firm, for violations of the Sherman Act. Lopez held overlapping executive roles at multiple hospices in the Las Vegas area. These were just some of Lopez’s other hospice executive positions.

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Hospice News

JULY 17, 2023

Fraud, waste and abuse issues that have percolated in the hospice space have put providers up against some regulatory walls. Bad actors in the hospice space can cost the nation’s health care system millions in fraudulent billing practices and also hinder access to care among terminally ill patients.

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Hospice News

JUNE 28, 2022

As hospice providers contend with industry-wide nursing shortages, some are taking matters into their own hands with in-house residency programs. A lack of hospice-specific clinical training is a significant recruitment barrier. So some hospices have decided to offer that education themselves.

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Hospice News

APRIL 7, 2023

Some hospices have found peer support to be a crucial component of their pediatric bereavement programs amid rising demand for these services. If we conceptualize that [data], that’s about three kids in an average classroom of around 30 students,” Burns told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

JUNE 29, 2023

Hospices often lack the financial and staffing resources needed to fully support bereaved families. Gross is also a medical director at ANX Hospice Care. Gross is also a medical director at ANX Hospice Care. Hospices are not reimbursed enough to support grief care teams,” Gross told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 19, 2023

Residential Hospice has acquired Illinois-based Safe Haven Hospice from the senior living provider Christian Horizons for an undisclosed sum. More than 57,000 Illinois residents enrolled in hospice during 2021, a utilization rate of about 47%, according to the U.S. Graham went on to acquire Residential Hospice in 2014.

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