Hospice News

JANUARY 2, 2024

As auditing activity by regulators continues to spike, hospices need to know how to conduct internal investigations to identify any potential improper payments. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actively works to recoup payments that it deems improper. Medicare fee-for-service programs made $31.23

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Hospice News

JULY 13, 2023

The health care space — including hospice — is increasingly shaped by numbers. During the past several years hospice providers have had to become experts in data management in order to remain competitive. Hospices’ cost-savings potential A study published in March revealed that hospice saved Medicare roughly $3.5

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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. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in June released its proposed home health reimbursement rule for 2023, which included a 4.2% pay hike for hospice care in 2023.

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Hospice News

JULY 27, 2022

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will give hospices a 3.8% bump in their per diem payments for 2023, according to a final rule published today. The rule also increases the hospice aggregate cap for next year by a corresponding 3.8% The post CMS Final Rule Gives Hospice 3.8% to $32,486.92.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

For the time being, Medicare Advantage may be providers’ best bet for palliative care reimbursement. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also allows Medicare Advantage plans to cover palliative care as a supplemental benefit. She is also co-founder of the company’s hospice and home health service segment.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Hospices have grown increasingly frustrated by fraudulent operators in the space and how their activities affect legitimate operators’ financial health. This is the second of a two-part Hospice News series that explores how fraud, waste and abuse in the hospice space could create headwinds for the industry at large.

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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

DECEMBER 13, 2022

Most hospices are sliding into 2023 between a rock and a hard place, beset by headwinds, labor shortages and questions with no easy answers. Government oversight of hospice providers will tighten during 2023. Hospices have faced ever-intensifying scrutiny from regulators in recent years. Be ready for regulation.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Regulators have been keeping an increasingly close watch on hospice providers, and this may intensify in 2023. Moving into next year, hospices have a spectrum of crucial issues on their plates. Hospice will have a lot going on in the regulatory space next year. What are your expectations going into 2023?

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Hospice News

JUNE 8, 2023

s (NYSE: EHAB) M&A journey has narrowed towards hospice, diverting less in home health’s direction. Reimbursement uncertainties, shrinking pools of available assets, and rising valuations in the home health space are forces steering the company’s sights towards hospice, according to Enhabit executives. Acquisitions contributed $36.3

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 20, 2022

SCAN Health Plan is among the Medicare Advantage (MA) payers entering the hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) payment demonstration in 2023. The four-year program — often called the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in — launched Jan. Hospice VBID enters its third year in 2023.

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Hospice News

MAY 30, 2023

Though nonprofit hospices now represent a smaller slice of the industry than in years past, they continue to care for more than half of patients in the United States who elect the benefit. The number of hospices operating nationwide rose to 5,3,58 in 2021, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding its enhanced oversight for new hospices in fraud-ridden states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. The agency in July 2023 first announced a “provisional period of enhanced oversight” for new hospices in those states.

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Hospice News

MAY 12, 2023

The hospice space — and the health care system at large — is in a state of flux, driven by value-based reimbursement models, an expanding home-based care continuum and industry-changing transactions. ’s (NASDAQ: AMED) trajectory in 2023 is a tale of three companies, and they should be watched for three reasons.

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Hospice News

MAY 3, 2023

Federal regulators are cracking down on the private insurers that administer Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. That growth has continued into 2023, with at least 157 plans offering home-based palliative care, according to data from Washington, D.C.-based based research and consulting firm ATI Advisory.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

If you were to write a book about hospice in 2023, what would you call it? To help answer that question, Hospice News asked the CEOs of eight providers how they would title a book about the state of the field today. Croix Hospice, AccentCare, Chapters Health System, Alivia Care, Enhabit, Inc., Heath Bartness, CEO, St.

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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

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Today’s hospice executives are entering the field with change in mind for improved quality. Hospice News spoke with c-suite executives who have recently stepped into their roles to learn more about what led them to the space and their top priorities. Regulatory challenges are among hospice leaders’ most significant concerns.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 18, 2022

While home health operators brace for the impact of the meager 2023 reimbursement rates, hospices likewise must prepare for a ripple effect. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently established a 0.7% base rate payment increase for home health care in 2023. While this is an improvement from the 4.2%

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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

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 This prompted the U.S.

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Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2024

Legacy Hospice has acquired Mississippi-based HomeCare Hospice for an undisclosed sum. HomeCare Hospice operates four locations that cover most of its home state. By 2023, the bureau estimates that more than a quarter of the state’s residents will be older than 60, an increase of close to 40% since 2012. Census Bureau.

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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

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Only 10 new Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will offer home-based palliative care as a primarily health-related benefit for 2023, but payers may be offering those services through other programs. Among Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits, in-home support services and caregiver support saw the most year-over-year growth for 2023.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

s (Nasdaq: AMED) hospice segment has seen headwinds impact admissions growth as the company awaits its pending acquisition by the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum. The company’s hospice segment revenue reached $207.9 Gross margin for the hospice segment fell slightly to 42.9% Amedisys Inc.’s year-over-year.

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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

DECEMBER 14, 2022

SCAN Group and CareOregon have agreed to join forces in 2023 as a new organization called HealthRight Group. The new nonprofit will combine SCAN’s Medicare portfolio with CareOregon’s predominantly Medicaid health plans. The legacy SCAN would become the Medicare division of the company. Possible expansion into hospice.

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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

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Fraudulent operators’ marketing strategies are morphing the competitive landscape, making it difficult for legitimate hospice providers to maintain visibility among patients and families. Good actors have more pressure applied to them, and they’re at risk for negative public appearances,” Chirico told Hospice News. “If

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Careful management of the hospice aggregate cap is key to providers’ sustainability as regulatory scrutiny continues to heat up. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending and foster greater access to care among patients. For Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. In 2025, this will rise to $34,465.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Hospice operators in 2024 are navigating a rapidly transforming environment. The prior three years have laid the groundwork for change, particularly in the regulatory space as well as gradual migration towards value-based reimbursement and in tandem, the proliferation of business lines beyond hospice.

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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

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

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Services offered through the JV will include hospice, palliative care, home health and private duty nursing, branded as Providence at Home with Compassus. The JV includes 24 home health locations in four states, as well as 17 hospice and palliative care locations in Alaska, California, Oregon, Texas and Washington state.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 24, 2023

The company expects the program to bring in roughly 25 new health care workers each month in 2023 at an estimated cost of $40 million, which VITAS hopes to offset with increased volume as staffing gains drive up capacity. “We VITAS launched the initiative in an effort to improve timely access to hospice care. across its markets.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 1, 2022

The hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) demonstration will include elements designed to promote health equity in 2023. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that health equity will be a key component of their payment model demonstrations going forward. “Health outcomes are unequal.

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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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