Hospice News

JULY 11, 2024

Efforts to establish potential payment mechanisms for high-acuity palliative services within the Medicare Hospice Benefit will require greater clarity from regulators, according to the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC). This could result in deepening conflation of hospice and palliative care, the organization indicated. “We

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Hospice News

APRIL 12, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed 2025 hospice rule contains clarifications on which physicians may certify patients for hospice enrollment. Clarification from CMS in these areas will be helpful to hospices, physicians and those reviewing hospice records for compliance.”

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Hospice News

AUGUST 22, 2024

Hospice transactions are facing a new world of challenges during a time when M&A activity is projected to ramp up after recent lulls. More founders who began their organizations when the Medicare Hospice Benefit was established in the 1980s are reaching retirement. Who’s going to receive the proceeds?

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Hospice News

MAY 31, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a second cohort for its Enhancing Oncology Model payment demonstration, as well as some updates to the program. 1, 2025, CMS will implement some revisions to the program. “In For dually-eligible patients, the payment for 2025 will be $140. Effective Jan.

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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 We know that hospice care has demonstrated $3.5

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Hospice News

MARCH 28, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its 2025 proposed rule for hospice payment, which if finalized would include a 2.6% The proposal is a likely signal that CMS will not adopt a recent recommendation by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to freeze rates beginning next year.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

The soon-to-be-implemented hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could produce misinformation that could interfere with access to care. It might make them even fearful about hospice care, which is the last thing we want to see happen. The program, set to begin Jan.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its first draft guidance manual for implementing the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool. The tool is slated for an October 2025 implementation, according to the agency’s 2025 final hospice rule.

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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. In 2025, this will rise to $34,465. In addition, the U.S.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

NYSE: EHAB) expects consistent hospice growth even as it contends with payer and reimbursement headwinds for its home health business. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s proposed 2025 payment rule. Meanwhile, Enhabit’s hospice segment continues to grow sequentially. “We’re Enhabit Inc.

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Hospice News

JUNE 11, 2024

Federal regulators should increase scrutiny of private equity activity in the hospice space, according to the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). We wish to emphasize that it is not NPHI’s position to oppose all PE associated activity in the hospice market,” the organization indicated in its comments.

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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 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

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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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

JUNE 29, 2022

Congressional legislators are casting doubts on regulatory oversight of Medicare Advantage plans over concerns about spending, claims denials, and end-of-life care. Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and the Government Accountability Office.

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Hospice News

JUNE 3, 2024

Hospice industry organizations have voiced support for proposed updates to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys, but raised questions on the implementation timeline. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included the updates in its proposed hospice payment rule for 2025.

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Hospice News

MAY 31, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) inquiries into high-acuity palliative care, but expressed concern over reimbursement and staffing issues. The agency’s 2025 proposed hospice rule featured a series of requests for information (RFI) on issues like health equity, social determinants of health and future quality measures.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 3, 2024

A coalition of hospice, home health and palliative care organizations has called on Congress to extend temporary telehealth flexibilities implemented during the pandemic. 31, these flexibilities allowed hospices to perform routine home care visits virtually and conduct face-to-face recertification visits. Currently set to expire Dec.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

s (NYSE: EHAB) hospice segment buoyed the company’s Q3 financial results amid losses in its home health business. Consistent sequential gains in Enhabit’s hospice average daily census ADC, coupled with the Fiscal Year 2025 payment increase of 2.9% Hospice ADC rose 6.9% Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Hospice News

AUGUST 19, 2024

If enacted, the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act could open up reimbursement pathways for high-acuity palliative services during a time when demand and costs are rising. But things that we didn’t understand were palliative actually are services many hospices are providing to communities.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 13, 2024

A new hospice nursing recruitment effort has launched in the New England region after being stalled by the pandemic. The recruitment initiative is the fruit of a collaboration between Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH) and the Home Care, Hospice & Palliative Care Alliance of New Hampshire (the Alliance).

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Hospice News

JULY 23, 2024

The Medicare Hospice Benefit is ripe for change nearly four decades after its establishment, but moving the needle will include a heavy lift around evolving regulations. This is according to Bill Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). But hospice has moved into a new era.

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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. Further changes will occur in the larger model during the extension years.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 6, 2024

Strategic priorities for Texas-headquartered Addus HomeCare Corporation (NASDAQ: ADUS) continue to focus on personal care and home health and less on hospice as the company waits for the dust to settle following its Gentiva personal care acquisition. Addus offers personal care, hospice and home health. Hospice revenue per day was up 6.3%

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Hospice News

MAY 23, 2024

As hospice and palliative care providers move further into value-based care, data is becoming paramount to building payer and referral partner relationships. Key data points include performance on the Hospice Item Set, the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys and other quality measures.

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Hospice News

MAY 16, 2024

Hospices that fail to shed a brighter light on their quality outcomes and staff training could avoid being left in the dark about their future compliance risks as new standards take shape in the forthcoming Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation Tool (HOPE) tool.

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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

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Errors or other inconsistencies with the payment cap can have significant consequences for providers, and sales and marketing staff can help hospices achieve a healthy balance. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending and foster greater access to care among patients.

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NHPCO

MARCH 28, 2024

proposed rate increase for hospices is not enough to support the continued delivery of hospice care amidst rising cost pressures and ongoing workforce constraints affecting hospices nationwide,” said NHPCO COO and Interim CEO, Ben Marcantonio. “The We know that hospice care has demonstrated $3.5

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Hospice News

MAY 1, 2024

The impending demise of the hospice component of U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ value-based insurance design (VBID) model has largely been met with a sense of relief by providers as they plan new initiatives for palliative care in 2025.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 15, 2024

The post-Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in landscape could include wider value-based reimbursement avenues in the hospice space, leading providers to pivot into MA payer relationships. The forthcoming end of the hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) demonstrative takes effect Dec.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Program integrity issues that have heated up in the hospice space during the past five years reached a boiling point in 2023. Hospice providers have seen an array of increased regulatory oversight in 2023. There is scrutiny on hospice care [that’s] setting the stage for the next phase of what hospice oversight looks like.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2024

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) are moving forward on the integration of their combined new organization. The alliance is anticipated to take shape under a new name by January 2025, he indicated.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

The company is a value-based organization that partners with primary care physicians nationwide to jointly take on the total cost and quality of care for their senior patients through Medicare Advantage or the the U.S. 30, 2024, comprising 525,000 Medicare Advantage members and 132,000 ACO model beneficiaries.

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Hospice News

MARCH 13, 2024

As hospice program integrity remains in the spotlight, California remains the only state to take action on curbing the problem. 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

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of home health, hospice care, senior housing, skilled nursing, and behavioral health. Brittany Arnett, director of clinical operations at Visiting Nurse Health System Hospice Atlanta, has been named a 2024 Future Leader by Hospice News.

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