Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

Two Maryland-based hospices, Hospice of Washington County and Gilchrist, have agreed to affiliate. We are excited about the synergy between our organizations,” Sara McKay, CEO of Hospice of Washington County and Franklin Hospice, said in a statement. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

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Hospice News

MARCH 4, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will end the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) as of Dec. Often called the “hospice carve-in,” the program was designed to test coverage of hospice care through Medicare Advantage, in addition to some coverage of palliative care and transitional 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. The aging population continues to increase, so even as the percentage of patients served decreases, the total number of patients served increases,” Ware told Hospice News. “The In 2021, 1.71 About 47.3%

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Hospice News

JUNE 21, 2024

Bristol Hospice has acquired Mississippi-based Mid-Delta Hospice, a move that marked its entry into the state. The decision to launch services in a new state came with growing recognition around rising demand for home health and hospice care, according to Bristol Hospice CEO and President Alex Mauricio.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 1, 2024

Hospice of the Western Reserve has completed its affiliation with Hospice of North Central Ohio (HNCO), expanding its geographic presence in the Buckeye state. The two hospice providers in February announced the affiliation after signing a letter of intent to enter a Management Services Agreement. Photo by Pixelate Photography.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Prolific health disparities have driven hospices to implement various strategies to improve diversity, equity and inclusion among underserved patient populations. Garrett is also executive director of the Virginia-based hospice’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee. Hospice utilization rates rose by 4.1%

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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. The North Carolina-based hospice, home health and palliative care provider is part of the Liberty Health system. “The

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Jimmy Panetta (D-California) have introduced a bill that would reform aspects of the hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). If enacted, the Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act also would increase the penalty for hospices that do not report quality measure data to 10% by 2027, up from 4% currently.

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Hospice News

MARCH 8, 2024

Tightened regulation in the hospice space has led to longer, more stringent diligence processes when it comes to buying and selling provider companies. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has honed in on hospice program integrity through a number of new regulations, including some in the agency’s 2024 hospice final rule.

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Hospice News

MAY 7, 2024

Fraudulent hospices continue to proliferate, and some may be moving between states to escape regulators. Beginning in 2021, numerous reports emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Implementation of the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been challenging for both payers and providers, though a recent analysis indicates that it may get easier over time. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned the RAND Corp. CMS launched the carve-in in 2021.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 21, 2024

The Dallas-based home health and hospice provider Intrepid USA will pay $3.85 The company was accused of enrolling patients for both home health and hospice services who were not eligible. The company was accused of enrolling patients for both home health and hospice services who were not eligible. Department of Justice.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

Plano, Texas-based Heart to Heart Hospice will soon add a third location to its geographic footprint in Oklahoma. The de novo will open this fall, located in Durant, Oklahoma, and serve hospice patients and their families across 11 surrounding counties. Demographics are driving demand for hospice in Oklahoma. Census Bureau.

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Hospice News

JULY 10, 2024

The Ohio-based health system Adena Health has unveiled a hospice and home health joint venture with Alternate Solutions Health Network (ASHN). The JV, branded as Adena Home Health and Hospice, will launch next month, providing care to seriously and terminally ill patients in south central and southern Ohio. Census Bureau.

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Hospice News

JULY 12, 2024

Unity Hospice and Palliative Care has signed an agreement to become part of Illinois-based Northwestern Medicine’s Post-Acute Network (PAN). The agreement establishes the hospice as a preferred provider for referrals from the health system, which is affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. “We million, up from 1.9

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Allowing patients to receive concurrent hospice and curative care reduces health care costs and improves quality. Initially slated to complete in 2020, CMS later extended it until December 2021. We really didn’t find subgroups that were not benefiting from the model,” Kranker told Hospice News. “We

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Hospice News

MARCH 15, 2024

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has recommended to Congress a freeze on hospice payment increases starting in 2025. In its annual report to Congress, MedPAC urged policymakers to eliminate hospice base-rate increases for 2025. The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC.

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Hospice News

JUNE 5, 2024

A slew of fraudulent hospices in California are dodging consequences by shuffling patients around between provider numbers. That’s according to multiple sources who spoke with Hospice News, expressing their concerns about patterns of fraud continuing even as government regulators crack down on the sector.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 12, 2024

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has voted to recommend a freeze on hospice payment increases starting in 2025. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). For this year, CMS increased the hospice base rate by 3.1%. set in 2023.

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Hospice News

MARCH 23, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is extending the value-based insurance design demonstration for calendar years 2025 to 2030, including the hospice component. The hospice component of VBID, also called the MA carve-in, launched in 2021 and was originally slated to complete after four years.

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Hospice News

MARCH 21, 2024

Members of Congress are raising questions about the continued Medicare certification for new hospices in areas rife with fraud. Though he pledged more detailed responses at a later date, Becerra told lawmakers that CMS is certifying hospices in markets where there is a need identified in the community. “I

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Hospice News

JUNE 25, 2024

The durable medical equipment provider Home Oxygen Company has completed an asset purchase of the DME division of California-based Community Hospice & Health Services. The acquired division is “believed to be” among the last hospice-owned DME companies in California, according to a press release emailed to Hospice News. “We

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2024

Hospice providers, industry groups and other stakeholders recently penned a letter urging Congress to improve payment infrastructures that would increase access to end-of-life care among rural populations. For some rural areas, they’re not seen as financially feasible or sustainable to larger programs,” Kuhlman told Hospice News. “So,

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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

MAY 1, 2024

NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired Utah-based South Davis Home Health and South Davis Hospice. The Pennant Group and its independent operating subsidiaries provide health care services through 111 home health and hospice agencies and 51 senior living communities throughout several states. The Pennant Group, Inc. Seniors represent 12.1%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Health plan participation in the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) will fall in 2024. For calendar year 2024, 13 Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) will participate in the program’s hospice component, providing coverage through 78 health plans in 19 states. million in 2023.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 29, 2024

The Connecticut Hospice Inc. Dubbed as Magnolia Care, the decision to launch these new services was in part driven by rising demand as more seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia reach life’s final stages, according to the hospice provider. Growing demand is among the factors driving hospices’ investment.

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Hospice News

MAY 8, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should beef up hospice oversight, including addressing overdue surveys. To date, CMS has fully implemented five and partially implemented three of eight provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), though quality issues persist in the hospice space.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Providers see sustainability and expanded service growth as main draws to participating in the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recent webinar. On the hospice side, we conducted interviews of both in- and out-of-network hospices in VBID.

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Hospice News

JUNE 14, 2023

Meanwhile, Medicare hospice spending is expected to more than double by 2032. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary also project that health care expenditures will represent 19.6% of the nation’s gross domestic product by the end of that time frame, up from slightly more than 18% in 2021.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized its 2024 home health rule, including the implementation of a hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). The rule also finalizes the proposed “36-month”rule for hospice providers.

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Hospice News

MAY 16, 2024

(NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired the Corpus Christi, Texas-based hospice provider Nurses on Wheels Inc. Earlier this month Pennant acquired Utah-based South Davis Home Health and South Davis Hospice. We are excited to expand the reach of our hospice operations in south Texas,” said Pennant CEO Brent Guerisoli in a statement.

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Hospice News

MARCH 26, 2024

Though many expect a hospice M&A rebound in 2024, the scales are tipping in favor of home health companies among buyers. After 2023’s slump, PE firms have been sitting on more than $800 million in dry powder, according to data shared with Hospice News by The Braff Group. But additional data point to a resurgence.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Over time, Medicare Advantage plans will likely have a greater presence as hospice payers, and now is the time for providers to build relationships those organizations. Originally slated to end in 2024, CMS recently extended the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) to 2023. SCAN is a $4.3

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Hospice News

JANUARY 24, 2024

has acquired Superior Home Health and Superior Hospice of Texas. Combined, Superior’s home health and hospice businesses operate seven locations that serve 50 Texas counties and more than 500 cities. ” Hospice utilization in Texas runs high, with 143,284 Medicare decedents using these services in 2021, according to the U.S. .

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Hospice News

MAY 25, 2023

Massachusetts-based Advanced Home Care has acquired Dignity Hospice Care for an undisclosed amount. The buyer company’s CEO Art Kalenjian will now take the helm at Dignity Hospice. The first patients at the newly acquired Dignity Hospice were able to access the new hospice program in May, according to the press release.

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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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