Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has not responded to congressional concerns about the hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). Set for 2025 implementation, the SFP promises to identify hospices delivering poor quality care and target them for improvement remedies.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

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). million as of September 2024. The hospice component of VBID is slated to end on Dec. This is up from 34.3

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Hospice News

APRIL 5, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow hospice patients to receive concurrent care through the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in, and will permit health plans to further restrict utilization of out-of-network providers.

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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

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.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 10, 2025

Cheryl Hamilton Fried, CEO, Kirva Hospice Demand grows despite blustery staffing headwinds We will begin to see a more significant increase in utilization in 2025 (vs 2024) as education regarding the benefit, increased [long term care] occupancy versus the pandemic era, and a growing senior demographic all converge on the sector.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Enhabit anticipates a nice bump in patient census across both its home health and hospice service lines in 2025, positioning the company for stronger growth than experienced in the last year, according to President and CEO Barb Jacobsmeyer. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Nine other de novos are also on the horizon.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Hospice providers will be looking to Congress in 2024 to address issues related to program integrity, quality improvement and industry-wide workforce pressures. As legislative efforts develop, hospices may want to focus their attention on a few key legislators. Elected to the U.S.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 4, 2023

After the tumultuous years of the pandemic, VITAS Healthcare expects a stable growth trajectory heading into 2024. Though the company has not yet released financial guidance for 2024, VITAS anticipates a “predictable” 2024 in terms of earnings and growth, executives said at Monday’s Bank of America Healthcare Conference.

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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. Meanwhile, lawmakers unveiled a bill with some of the most significant reforms proposed to date for hospice payment and oversight. The following are the most-read Hospice News articles of 2024. #1:

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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

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

This evolving mix of hospice regulation has placed staff oversight at the forefront of ensuring compliance, according to Christie Piland, director of education at Caris Healthcare. Additional services include palliative care, a veterans program and care coordination. On Wednesday, the U.S. It’s about your internal standards.”

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Hospice News

JANUARY 11, 2024

Grief’s care largest staffing gaps The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires hospices to offer bereavement care for a minimum of 13 months following a patient’s death. Many providers extend this care to communities across their service regions, regardless of whether the deceased was a patient.

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Hospice News

JUNE 27, 2024

Battling fraud Reports of unethical or illegal practices have surged, particularly among hundreds of newly certified hospices in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. Recent evidence indicates that more of these providers are being enrolled in Medicare despite the U.S. Colin Allred (D-Texas). The program began implementation on Jan.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 29, 2024

Therefore, we can expect continued demand for palliative care, the slow evolution of payment models that could support further growth and more partnerships among providers across the continuum designed to boost utilization and slash expenditures. Rising demand In 2024, demand will continue to rise, driven by a number of factors.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 19, 2024

Though the number of hospice M&A deals plummeted in 2023 compared to prior years, deals are still being made, and the industry may see a rebound in 2024. Transaction volume declined in the hospice and home-based care space in 2023, following the two record-breaking prior years. and JPMorgan Chase also own a stake.

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Hospice News

JULY 12, 2024

The forthcoming Hospice Care Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act from U.S. Blumenauer announced the bill in June at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C. Hospice News / Merz Photography Hospice News / Merz Photography Rep. Hospice News photo by Merz Photography.

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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. Blumenaur’s office and members of the House Ways and Means Committee.

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Hospice News

JUNE 26, 2024

Development of the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act has signaled that a wave of change may be on the horizon in end-of-life care delivery – including how patients are certified to receive these services. The area of end-of-life care was ripe for a pilot project.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

This year has brought both tumultuous challenges and evolving opportunities for hospices that will steer hospice leadership during 2024. Hospice News spoke with a group of industry leaders about the most impactful forces that will shape the space in the coming year. Hospice care reduces Medicare expenditures by about $3.5

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Strong performance on the Hospice Care Index is becoming increasingly essential to securing payer and referral contracts and will be a key consideration in the federal government’s forthcoming Special Focus Program (SFP). The Hospice Care Index can be a referral driver. CMS finalized the Jan.

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2025

hospice industry as a whole is projected to bring in roughly $34 billion in revenue during 2024, Jackson indicated. This is a rise from Medicare hospice expenditures that reached $23.7 billion in 2022, Medicare (MedPAC) reported. Hospice care was found to save Medicare approximately $3.5

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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. That will translate to a $780 million bump to hospice payments next year compared to Fiscal Year 2023, according to CMS. for next year, up from $32,486.92

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Hospice News

APRIL 3, 2023

The 2024 proposed hospice rule from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) signals the agency’s earliest response to widespread calls to bolster program integrity within the benefit. Other provisions are designed to promote greater transparency around hospice ownership. In additional to a 2.8%

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2025

A group of providers and state associations are plaintiffs in the suit, including Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice, Indiana Association for Home & Hospice Care, Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina, South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association and Houston Hospice.

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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. Some of these providers engaged in referral kickback schemes, enrolled patients who were not eligible for hospice and lied to them about being terminally ill. of hospices) 2024 (No.

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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.

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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. increase in per diem payments alongside new quality reporting measures.

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Hospice News

JUNE 12, 2024

Inflation and rising health care utilization are driving U.S. health care spending to growth faster than the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The nation’s health care spend is projected to reach nearly $5.1 trillion in 2024, up from $4.5 Hospice care saves Medicare roughly $3.5

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Hospice News

JANUARY 16, 2025

The plaintiffs include: Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice, Indiana Association for Home & Hospice Care, Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina, South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association and Houston Hospice.

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2024

The 2025 proposed hospice rule is raising some questions along with payment rates. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a 2.6% increase in hospice per diems for 2025. We know that hospice care has demonstrated $3.5 Hospice care saves Medicare roughly $3.5

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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

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Investment trends in the hospice industry have meandered in recent years, impacting providers’ approaches to growth in 2024. The mix of hospice buyers has become more diverse during the past five years to include more private equity investors, large health and hospital systems and home health companies, along with payers.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Hospice News sat down with providers, advocacy groups, legal experts and other stakeholders to uncover the most significant hospice regulatory trends from this year and their anticipated impacts heading into 2024 and beyond. Many established services for the purpose of selling the license at a profit or defrauding Medicare.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently finalized hospice payment rule. The proposed version of the 2024 rule contained several requests for information from providers, which included questions on potential health equity measures. The panel released its report in May.

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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. It makes sense.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Fosina was previously the hospitals COO, serving in the role since March 2024. He oversaw its daily operations as Calvary integrated services with parent organization ArchCare, the health care ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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