Hospice News

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Hospices need to do a better job of getting the word out about the job opportunities that exist for clinicians in the field, and how they differ from working in other health care settings. Worsening workforce shortages have been keeping hospice leaders awake at night for several years running. NYSE: CHE).

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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

AUGUST 17, 2023

As Jimmy Carter marks his sixth month in hospice care, the provider community is raising awareness by saluting the former president. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) convened a group of hospice leaders at Times Square in New York City to commemorate Carter’s hospice experience.

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Hospice News

MARCH 3, 2023

The families of patients who received care from nonprofit hospices give their providers higher marks on quality than those who went with for-profits, a RAND Corp. The relative value of nonprofit and for-profit providers has been a longstanding discussion in the hospice community. hospices between 2019 and 2020.

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Hospice News

APRIL 29, 2022

The Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been the focus of much attention among providers, and many are watching closely for the demonstration’s outcomes. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the MCCM in 2016 to explore the idea of allowing hospice patients to receive concurrent curative care.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 25, 2024

National hospice utilization rates have fallen since 2020, though the total number of patients served remains consistent. This utilization rate is similar to what was seen in calendar year 2020. million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in hospice care for one day or more, compared to 1.72 About 47.3%

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Hospice News

MARCH 7, 2025

Palliative care models have been gaining traction in terms of demonstrating cost savings and improved quality for several years running, Farrand said. But palliative providers have long-faced a challenging reimbursement trajectory in supporting their sustainability, she said during Hospice News virtual Palliative Care Outlook Summit.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Calls have grown louder for an overhauled design of the Medicare Hospice Benefit, but the path towards change is riddled with contrasting views over regulation, policy and payment structures. One part of the issue is that hospice reimbursement has not kept pace with evolving patient needs, Grant said.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Cameron Muir has been named as the new CMO of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). His new title signals the organization’s strategic plans to reshape hospice care delivery through patient-centered, innovative approaches, according to NPHI CEO Tom Koutsoumpas.

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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

JULY 30, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled its final 2025 hospice rule, which includes a 2.9% The increase represents an estimated $790 million rise in total hospice payments compared to Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. The finalized hospice cap amount for FY 2025 is $34,465.34, up from $33,494.01 this year. “The

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Hospice News

MARCH 25, 2024

Arizona-based Stoneridge Hospice launched services in 2020 with an aim to address a swelling aging population’s growing need for end-of-life care. Stoneridge Hospice provides home-based hospice and also contracts with other providers to offer facility-based services. Stoneridge Hospice launched in 2020.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 30, 2023

A rising number of hospices have undergone name changes in recent years, prompting many to consider the elements of an effective rebranding strategy. Hospices should avoid brand names that are too generic or that focus on one particular service line or portion of their geographic footprint.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 24, 2024

Traditions Health Names SVP of Hospice Operations Traditions Health has appointed Tom Moreland as its new senior vice president of hospice operations. Franklin, Tennessee-headquartered Traditions provides hospice, home health and palliative care as well as consulting services across 18 states.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Given the critical role of family caregivers in home-based care, hospices have a vested interest in expanding their access to support. Families caring for seriously ill loved ones face systemic barriers that could threaten patients’ ability to receive care at home, including at the end of life.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2023

Though evidence shows that longer hospice stays reduce costs, providers are still walking a regulatory tightrope. On one hand, longer hospice stays can lead to improved patient and family satisfaction and greater cost saving opportunities. Young told Hospice News. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S.

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Hospice News

JULY 14, 2022

Margin pressures from the proposed cuts to Medicare home health rates could impact palliative care and hospice. The agency cited budget neutrality requirements to explain the cuts, as well as adjustments related to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), a new payment system introduced in 2020. CMS proposed a 2.7%

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Hospice News

MAY 2, 2022

The nation’s health care system is lacking in support for caregivers of the terminally ill, who are often left with a heavy financial and logistical burden. Without assistance or relief, these difficulties can impede access to hospice. The California-based company provides palliative care and offers caregiver support group series.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Many seniors have experienced some form of trauma or abuse in their lifetime, which can carry impacts for those both delivering and receiving hospice care. This is the first of a two-part series that will examine the challenges that hospice patients and employees face related to abuse and trauma experiences and how providers respond.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 3, 2023

Kathy Hochul (D) has vetoed legislation that would have effectively banned new, for-profit hospices in the state. It would have prohibited the establishment of for-profit hospices in New York state and forbid current for-profit operators from increasing capacity. . Utah had the highest rate at 60.7%.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Hospices tend to see an increase in dementia patient admissions as well as home-based utilization following an acquisition by a private equity firm or a publicly traded company. After an acquisition by a public company, hospices saw a 1.4% HCC scores are designed to predict the costs associated with a patient’s care.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 23, 2024

Julia Hospice & Palliative Refuels De Novo Plans Pennsylvania-based Julia Hospice & Palliative (JHPC) has reignited plans to launch a de novo after experiencing pandemic-related setbacks. Dubbed Julia House, the facility will provide inpatient hospice and serve as an outpatient palliative care clinic.

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2024

Hospices, in aggregate, are showing improvement on the quality measure for visits in the last days of life. In Calendar Year 2021, the share of hospice care days with nurse visits in the last seven days of life rose to 63%, up from 62% year over year, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

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Hospice News

JANUARY 14, 2025

Croix Hospice recently acquired Hospice of Siouxland in Iowa and some of Mayo Clinic Health Systems hospice assets in its home state, two moves that stretched its widening footprint across the Midwest. Croix Hospice. The hospice provider is a portfolio company of the private equity firm H.I.G. Croix Hospice team.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

Some hospices have recently expanded the reach of their inpatient services while other providers have temporarily shuttered these programs. AMOREM Set to Launch Inpatient Facility North Carolina-based AMOREM will soon unveil a new inpatient hospice care facility to help improve access in its home state.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 24, 2023

Revocations of the hospice benefit can have serious adverse effects on patients and families, as well as providers. Live discharges can occur for a number of reasons, including the patient or family changing their minds about receiving hospice care, or the patient improves and no longer needs those services. About 15.4%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

The organizations had a prior connection through the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care Association, as well as a joint venture with several other providers, the Responsive Care Solutions Accountable Care Organization (ACO). After closing with Trustbridge, the organization will operate seven hospice brands.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 7, 2024

Hospice reimbursement trends influence palliative care payment and delivery. Among the significant changes coming this year is the end of the hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) model, as of Dec. Alivia Supportive Care launched in 2020 as the nonprofit’s home-based palliative care service line.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Connecticut-based Regional Hospice recently opened a new grief support center to extend its bereavement services further across the state’s northwestern region. The opening expands upon the nonprofit hospice’s existing bereavement services, according to Regional Hospice President and CEO Cynthia Emiry Roy. “We

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 17, 2023

New hospice leaders have indicated that workforce development, efficient technologies and growth in home-based services represent key focus areas for providers during the next few years. Earlier in the year, Yonah Klein was appointed director of strategy at Unity Hospice and Palliative Care. It’s the ideal place for one to pass.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

As hospices prepare for Medicare Advantage, more nonprofits are finding that creating partnerships or entering affiliations will better position themselves for payer negotiations. Nonprofit hospice affiliations have surged in 2022 and 2023. The program also includes components designed to expand access to palliative care.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 2, 2022

The recent article by the New Yorker and ProPublica that branded “hospice” as a profiteering “hustle” was an outrageous misrepresentation of the provider community. The article begins with a rehash of the AseraCare False Claims Act (FCA) and anti-kickback lawsuit which was filed in 2008 and settled in March of 2020.

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Hospice News

MARCH 1, 2023

Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice (KHCH) has merged with Stillwater Hospice amid mounting financial pressures. The two Indiana-based nonprofit hospices joined forces to ensure continued access to end-of-life care in the Kosciusko County area. This brings Stillwater’s staffing ranks to roughly 195 employees.

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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. For example, CMS wouldn’t cut hospital payments to increase rates for hospices. These reductions occur within each service.

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Hospice News

APRIL 19, 2024

Sierra Community Palliative Care is partnering with Mettle Health to help patients and families navigate potentially life-changing health care decisions. Sierra is the palliative care arm of California-based Hospice of the Foothills, designed to care for nonterminal patients who have serious or chronic conditions.

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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. Francis Reflections Melbourne Care Center includes a private bathroom and overnight space for loved ones.

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Hospice News

MAY 28, 2024

Honing clinical scheduling and onboarding models is key to sustaining the hospice nurse workforce as demand for these clinicians rises and wages lag compared to those in other settings. Building sustainable models Effective and empathetic communication is among the key skills for hospice nurses to possess, White indicated.

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