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

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Greater transparency in staff evaluation processes and increased education will be keys to navigating a range of hospice compliance challenges in a post-pandemic landscape. Transparency around hospice staffing and ownership is a large focus of program integrity efforts among regulators, Piland stated. On Wednesday, the U.S.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Palliative care’s continued expansion Palliative care leaders expect continued growth in 2024, driven by the proliferation of value-based payment models, greater recognition of these services’ quality improvement and cost savings potential. In addition to the expansion of existing programs, more are cropping up.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Aetna, a subsidiary of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is leveraging a series of new benefits that, coupled with existing palliative care programs and ongoing hospice payment demonstrations, promise to keep patients in their homes and out of facilities. In 2024, we have plans that offer $0 copay for primary care visits and labs.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 10, 2024

Moving into 2024, more hospices see joint ventures or similar partnerships to be a major growth engine. Nearly half of 143 respondents to Hospice News’ 2024 Outlook Survey , conducted with Homecare Homebase, said that joint ventures and partnerships were the growth tactics they planned to pursue the most this year.

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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

OCTOBER 19, 2023

The hospice merger and acquisition (M&A) space has seen an increasingly diverse and growing mix of investors during the last five years. Demographic tailwinds are pushing a wider range of stakeholders into the hospice and palliative care realms.

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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. There’s going to be so much change around value-based care coming in some way, shape or form for hospices,” Kudner told Hospice News.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

As hospices zero in on their investments in staff engagement and operational efficiencies, organizational culture is becoming a higher priority. Hospices nationwide are taking varied approaches around how they fuel staffing investments with sustainable growth in mind. 2024 Hospice News Outlook Survey and Report.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 21, 2023

Two of the nation’s largest hospice and home-based care industry organizations are merging and have announced a combined board that will guide the transition. Recently, many of those efforts have included advocacy around program integrity within the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Lloyd, president and CEO, Delaware Hospice, Inc.

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Hospice News

MAY 1, 2024

The impending demise of the hospice component of U.S. This included the addition of the hospice component in 2021, which was designed to test coverage of those services through Medicare Advantage. CMMI extended the program through 2030, but recently announced that the hospice portion will end on December 31, 2024.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Preparing to work within a value-based payment environment is top of mind for hospice leaders as they look ahead to 2023, Pete Brunnick, CEO of VIA Health Partners, told Hospice News. Formerly Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, VIA Health Partners currently serves 32 counties in North and South Carolina.

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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

AUGUST 26, 2024

The 2024 update to the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) clinical practice guidelines place renewed emphasis on palliative care. For the 2024 revisions, this panel reviewed 52 randomized controlled trials that evaluated outcomes among cancer patients who received palliative care, ASCO reported.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

“The LIFE program is a great example of Empath Health Full Life Care,” President and CEO Jonathan Fleece said in an announcement shared with Hospice News. “We Empath offers hospice care through several brands, including Tidewell Hospice, Suncoast Hospice, Empath Hospice, Hospice of Marion County and Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough.

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Hospice News

MAY 31, 2023

Citing inflation and other headwinds, hospice providers and industry organizations are urging the U.S. base rate increase for 2024. This is the first of a series of Hospice News articles that will cover the industry’s response to the proposed rule. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider the proposed 2.8%

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Hospice News

MAY 20, 2024

Congress recently passed the 2024 Labor Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill. The appropriations included in Fiscal Year 2024 are expected to cover two years of palliative care training and career development initiatives. Introduced in July 2023 , the appropriation included $12.5

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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

JULY 8, 2024

DCPs represent a wide range of health care providers, including large academic medical centers, small group practices, community-based organizations, health systems, hospice agencies, telehealth organizations and other practices,” the agency indicated in a statement. A map of approved GUIDE organizations as of July 2024, based on CMS data.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 3, 2023

Hospice will continue to be in a state of flux this year and next, with a heavy focus on regulation and supporting and growing the workforce, according to Ben Marcantonio, COO and interim CEO for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). What else is top of mind for you as you’re looking ahead to 2024?

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Expanding palliative care relationships and joint venture partnerships is a priority for 2024, the Louisiana-based home health and hospice provider indicated in a filing with the U.S. (NASDAQ: AMED) has made large investments in expanding access to palliative care, particularly through joint ventures with health systems.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Amid intensified regulatory scrutiny, staffing headwinds and shifts towards value-based care, hospices need to ensure that they’ve made a strong commitment to quality and to foster a positive workplace culture, according to hospice leaders. You have better care outcomes,” Molosky said during the Hospice News 2024 Outlook Webinar.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Sachin Jain, CEO, SCAN Group CMS initiated the changes to its risk adjustment process earlier this year through its 2024 final rule for Medicare Advantage plans. Much of the palliative care delivered to U.S. patients is now reimbursed through risk-based models like Medicare Advantage and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). “The

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

The analysis spanned various clinical trials and studies published between 2014 and 2024 that examined telehealth use within palliative care settings across the world. Telehealth utilization for palliative care during the last decade has been associated with improved quality of life, patient satisfaction and symptom management.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 20, 2022

The omnibus spending bill to currently before Congress includes provisions that would extend the waiver for recertification using telehealth through the end of 2024, among other items pertaining to hospice. For many hospices, what began as a temporary measure has evolved as an integral part of clinical operations.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

The hospice, palliative care and personal care provider Gentiva has acquired the hospice, home health and palliative assets of the nonprofit health system ProMedica. Though Gentiva did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction, Bloomberg reported that ProMedica’s Heartland Hospice is valued at $710 million.

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Hospice News

APRIL 3, 2023

The 2024 proposed hospice rule from the U.S. We should anticipate increased emphasis on program integrity in the hospice program.” We should anticipate increased emphasis on program integrity in the hospice program.” Other provisions are designed to promote greater transparency around hospice ownership.

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Hospice News

MARCH 27, 2024

The University of South Florida (USF) College of Nursing has launched a graduate certificate program in palliative care and hospice. The program is designed to help nurses pass the Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN®) exam. The post USF Unveils Palliative Care Certificate Program for Nurses appeared first on Hospice News.

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Hospice News

MARCH 5, 2024

The forces driving some community-based palliative programs to shutter are two-pronged, related to financial and operational sustainability, according to Renee McInnes, CEO of NVNA & Hospice. NVNA & Hospice provides home health, hospice and community-based palliative services. It’s really the funding.

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Hospice News

MAY 10, 2024

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, CMS health care providers’ ability to deliver care via telehealth, including hospices and palliative care providers. 31, 2024, leaving those providers in limbo over whether or not they can continue those services. Since then, virtual services have boomed. This week, the U.S.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2024

Though the model is focused on primary care, it could help more patients receive hospice and palliative care when appropriate, according to CMS. Hospices and palliative care providers can come to ACOs by two main avenues. As of January 1, 2024, 480 ACOs were in the MSSP program. million assigned beneficiaries, according to CMS.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently finalized hospice payment rule. The concern, however, is that hospices lack the financial support and incentives needed to bridge barriers, with reimbursement a main point of contention, he said.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

As of January 2024, roughly 480 ACOs are participating in MSSP, which include more than 608,000 clinicians who provide care to nearly 11 million Medicare beneficiaries. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that its Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) yielded more than $2.1 million patients annually.

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Hospice News

MAY 29, 2024

Vicki Jackson, board president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), noted that palliative care has demonstrated a positive impact on patient-reported outcomes across various illnesses, including cancer, heart, liver, kidney disease and dementia.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Two individuals in California have been arrested for their roles in a $54 million scheme to defraud Medicare for hospice and diagnostic testing. From March 2019 to August 2024, these companies allegedly submitted more than $54 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were never provided and not needed.

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Hospice News

MARCH 20, 2024

Palliative care delivery trends are increasingly taking root in inpatient and community-based settings across the continuum, Gina Andres, senior director of hospice and palliative care at Kaiser Permanente, said at the Hospice News Palliative Care Conference in Tampa, Florida. Palliative care is very attractive.

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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.

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