article thumbnail

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% For example, for FY 2022, the agency used 2018 data. “We Most hospices also do not have a diversified payer mix and are dependent on the Medicare Hospice Benefit. “We

2025 264
article thumbnail

MA Enrollment to Outstrip Traditional Medicare in 2025

Hospice News

Growth in the number of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries will likely overtake that for traditional Medicare in 2025, according to new estimates from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Researchers examined Medicare claims data for more than 1 million patients who died between 2016 and 2018.

2025 224
professionals

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

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 223
article thumbnail

How an Advance Care Planning Bill Could Impact Hospice and Medicare

Hospice News

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. One potential concern about the bill would be the additional cost to Medicare through removal of the co-pays. Warner (D-Va.) Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).

Medicare 284
article thumbnail

Small Hospices at a Disadvantage in Medicare Star Ratings

Hospice News

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) star ratings system for hospice quality may have unintended consequences for small providers. Nearly 54% Medicare decedents received hospice care for 30 days or less in 2018, according to the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

Medicare 229
article thumbnail

Medicare Advantage Crackdown Could Dampen Palliative Care Growth

Hospice News

Federal regulators are cracking down on the private insurers that administer Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Broadly, MA plans have been expanding supplemental benefits to include palliative care since 2018, when the U.S. In turn, that could dampen the growth of palliative care supplemental benefits in MA moving forward.

Medicare 205