Hospice News

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

This year has brought both tumultuous challenges and evolving opportunities for hospices that will steer hospice leadership during 2024. Among them is an evolving conversation around potential changes to the Medicare Hospice Benefit, an increasing focus on equitable access and service diversification to engage patients further upstream.

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Hospice News

MARCH 10, 2025

Calvary Hospitals newly appointed president Michael Fosina is embarking on a deeper journey to improve quality and access to hospice care amid rising demand. Research and workforce growth will play large roles in the future of palliative and end-of-life care delivery, according to Fosina. Some people struggle with that.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 13, 2024

Fraud and program integrity concerns dominated the news in 2024, along with large acquisitions, payment rules and regulatory changes. There were just some of the themes percolating among the most-read Hospice News coverage of 2024. The following are the most-read Hospice News articles of 2024. #1:

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Hospice News

JULY 28, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is giving hospices a 3.1% increase to their per diem payments for 2024, according to a final rule published Friday. payment boost the agency initially proposed for 2024 hospice payments back in March. The finalized rule also raises the aggregate payment cap to $33,494.01

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Hospice News

JANUARY 31, 2024

Palliative care, pediatric end-of-life care and end-of-life doula (EOLD) services are top of mind for hospices that are diversifying their services in 2024. Most PACE participants are reimbursed through the long-term care programs within Medicare and Medicaid, according to Black.

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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). The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC. reduction.

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Hospice News

JULY 12, 2024

The bill would also implement a temporary, national moratorium on the enrollment of new hospices into Medicare, to help stem the tide of fraudulent activities among recently established providers concentrated primarily in California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada. He announced late last year that he will not seek re-election to Congress in 2024.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently finalized hospice payment rule. It is [also] really important that quality data is collected so that patients and families can make informed choices about their care.” The panel released its report in May.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a 2.6% To continue providing the high level of care our patients and their families deserve, hospices require a payment rate that accurately reflects the current economic challenges. We know that hospice care has demonstrated $3.5 Hospice care saves Medicare roughly $3.5

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Hospice News

JUNE 13, 2024

The bill would also implement a temporary, national moratorium on the enrollment of new hospices into Medicare, to help stem the tide of fraudulent activities among recently established providers concentrated primarily in California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada. “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. The 2021 aggregated Medicare hospice margin was 13.3%, according to MedPAC. The commission projected an aggregate 2024 margin of 9%. Of those, 1,169 were nonprofits, a 1.4% decline from 2018.

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Hospice News

MARCH 6, 2024

“We object to the prospect of any savings from this extension being used to pay for activities that would not be focused on improving care for hospice patients and their families,” the groups said in the letter. “At For Fiscal Year 2024, the cap is set at $33,494.01 for next year.

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Hospice News

JULY 26, 2024

The most recent iteration of Hospice Care Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act, currently in a discussion draft phase, could have some unintended consequences in the future of end-of-life care delivery. Developed by U.S.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

While many in the hospice space agree that evolution is needed to help ensure quality end-of-life care outcomes, conflicting views swirl around how regulatory requirements and associated processes could get us there. Regulators and hospice providers share a common goal of ensuring quality end-of-life care experiences.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Gentiva Health Services has committed to expanding its recently established Advanced Illness Management (AIM) palliative care model in 2024, including its unique approach to reimbursement. Gentiva seeks to embody this vision through the AIM program, with plans to circumvent the need to work directly with Medicare or other payers.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 1, 2022

We identified numerous indicators of such fraud and abuse by hospice agencies, which typically offer palliative end-of-life care to individuals with medical diagnoses of fewer than six months to live.”. The agency has a deadline of Jan. The halt on licensing took effect Jan. Medi-Cal is the state’s Medicaid program.

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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. So, for access to rural care, we’re going to have to depend on smaller rural programs.

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Hospice News

JUNE 16, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) is seeking answers about hospice patients’ access to certain high-cost services. CMS included a series of requests for information (RFIs) in its proposed 2024 hospice payment rule. In 2021, the average length of stay for Medicare patients enrolled in hospice was 92.1

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Though greater transparency in hospice program integrity has opened the door to more patients in need of end-of-life care, she said. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 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

AUGUST 4, 2023

The 2024 final hospice payment rule included a modest payment increase for general inpatient care (GIP) at a time when regulators are zeroing in on increased utilization and longer stays. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included in the rule a 1.031% increase to hospice GIP services.

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Hospice News

JUNE 14, 2024

But the majority of hospices are striving to provide quality end-of-life experiences to terminally ill patients and their families, Harrison said at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C. Fraudsters have bilked Medicare for millions, with some cases resulting in criminal charges and even imprisonment.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 1, 2024

We know that the hospice benefit is clearly defined to cover just the last six months of life, while home health is designed for recovery and rehabilitation. This creates a major gap between benefits, as many patients with complex care needs don’t fit neatly into either category.

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Hospice News

APRIL 19, 2024

1, 2024 if enacted. Similar to the Vermont legislation, forces driving the Connecticut bill forward include the aim to protect home-based health care workers from threats of violence or abuse. Receiving favorable support thus far , the bill would take effect Oct.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 3, 2024

The bill builds upon the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, designed to speed transitions to patient-centered, value-based care. extension of MACRA’s advanced APM incentive in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which expired at the end of last year.

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Hospice News

JUNE 6, 2022

Set to open by 2024, Heather’s House will expand hospice care options for both adult and pediatric patients. . Through the 18-bed facility, the hospice will provide patients inpatient end-of-life care when their symptoms can no longer be managed in the home. Development of the hospice house has been a long journey.

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GeriPal

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

We also briefly mention Susan Wong’s terrific studies that found a disconnect between older adults with renal failure’s expressed values, focused on comfort, and their advance care planning and end-of-life care received, which focused on life extension; and another study that found quality of life was sustained until late in the illness course.

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Hospice News

MARCH 12, 2024

Program integrity and an onslaught of audits are top of mind for many hospice providers in 2024. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Close to 80% were related to General Inpatient Care utilization (GIP). In addition to those my Medicare Contractors, last year the U.S.

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Hospice News

JULY 18, 2023

“Affiliating our two organizations is a step forward in achieving a shared ambition of sustainable palliative and end-of-life care and bereavement services, for patients and families in the communities that we serve,” Hospice & Community Care President and CEO Steve Knaub said in a statement. currently, the U.S.

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Hospice News

JULY 12, 2024

Angela’s Hospice provides end-of-life care to adult and pediatric patient populations. Established in 1985, the faith-based nonprofit also offers palliative care, grief support and virtual telehealth hospice services to caregivers and patients. billion in the third quarter of 2024, an 11.4%

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Hospice News

MARCH 22, 2024

The Oregon-based hospice, palliative care and home health provider recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of its founding, which preceded the establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. A 35-year health care veteran, Hagfors has led Partners In Care for more than two years.

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Hospice News

APRIL 7, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking answers from the hospice community — including some around utilization patterns and non-hospice spending. The recently proposed 2024 hospice payment rule contained a 2.8% This includes items and services covered under Medicare Parts A, B, and D. bump from FY 2019.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 17, 2023

Earlier in the year, Yonah Klein was appointed director of strategy at Unity Hospice and Palliative Care. Technology a key to growing home-based hospice care, workforce The future of end-of-life care is heading further into the home, according to Klein.

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Hospice News

APRIL 4, 2024

Calls are growing louder for Congress to build stronger reimbursement and workforce incentives aimed at improving the availability and sustainability of rural-based end-of-life care. Rural-based hospice providers face a range of challenges to improve access among their underserved patient populations.

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Hospice News

JUNE 22, 2023

SEIU analyzed Medicare claims data showing that the average hospice transfer rate among HCA hospital discharges was nearly 40% above the national average in 2021 and represented a 50% growth rate over four years. million Medicare beneficiaries elected the benefit in 2021, up from 1.43 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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NHPCO

MARCH 5, 2024

For Immediate Release March 4, 2024 (Alexandria, VA) – The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) responded to today’s announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that as of December 31, 2024, the hospice benefit component of the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model will conclude.

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NHPCO

APRIL 17, 2023

For Immediate Release April 17, 2023 (Alexandria, VA) The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) published the following statement in response to a recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule that would update key components of hospice reimbursement and regulations in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.

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NHPCO

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

The findings in this report reflect patients who received care in Calendar Year (CY) 2022, or Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, provided by hospices certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and reimbursed under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. The total number of beneficiaries enrolled in hospice care in 2022 was 1.72

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