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

MAY 31, 2024

1, 2025, CMS will implement some revisions to the program. “In Starting in 2025, the MEOS payment will increase to $110 per member, per month, up from $70 in the program’s first year. For dually-eligible patients, the payment for 2025 will be $140. Effective Jan. The PBP payments are linked to spending targets.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Regulators recently extended certain temporary telemedicine waivers granted during the pandemic, with some flexibilities now sunsetting in 2025 rather than the end of this year. With the end of 2024 quickly approaching, DEA, jointly with HHS, has extended current telemedicine flexibilities through December 31, 2025.”

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2024

The 2025 proposed hospice rule is raising some questions along with payment rates. increase in hospice per diems for 2025. The agency also proposed two new quality measures and 2025 implementation of the Hospice Outcome and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) assessment tool to replace the Hospice Item Set.

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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. Medicare Advantage currently does not reimburse for hospice care outside of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) demonstration. MA enrollees were also 5.2%

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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. That problem was mirrored in the environment outside of the program.

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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

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 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

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

JULY 17, 2024

Tuesday Health CEO Jim Wieland told Hospice News. The company expects to develop similar partnerships in Ohio markets as well as two to three other states by early 2025, according to Weiland. The post Startup Tuesday Health Unveils Palliative Care Partnership with CareSource appeared first on Hospice News.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

The past year has seen a slew of regulatory developments aimed at improving quality and combatting fraud in the hospice industry. The first was two July 2019 reports on hospice quality from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in the U.S. Some individuals also hold management positions at several of these hospices simultaneously.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

The soon-to-be-implemented hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) from the U.S. 1, 2025, could potentially lead patients away from quality providers and into the arms of bad actors in the space, according to Dr. Steven Landers, newly appointed CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home. The program, set to begin Jan.

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Hospice News

MAY 31, 2024

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. The RFIs contain further questions about the utilization of higher-cost palliative treatments under the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

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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

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

MARCH 19, 2024

Connecticut legislators recently introduced a bill that aims to create a statewide pediatric hospice and palliative program. Connecticut Children’s provides a range of 30 pediatric services, including hospice, and has more than 40 locations in its home state, New York and Massachusetts. The plan would have to be completed by Jan.

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Hospice News

JULY 31, 2024

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has approved its 2025 state budget that includes outlays to support palliative care services for children. for Pediatric Palliative Care appeared first on Hospice News. The state’s budget included $14.7 million for maternal and child health, including $10.4 Mariano (D-Quincy). million in 2021.

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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. This recommendation is offered at a time when hospice care costs have risen faster than any inflation update provided by CMS,” Dombi told Hospice News in an email. “A

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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

AUGUST 2, 2024

The agency’s 2025 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule contains a provision that would establish a new “prepaid shared savings” option for Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) participants. Though the model is focused on primary care, it could help more patients receive hospice and palliative care when appropriate, according to CMS.

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Hospice News

JULY 23, 2024

As dementia-related illnesses continue to rise among hospice patients, caregivers and providers alike are working judiciously to best find ways to support patients and their families in navigating these new diagnoses. The post Why Palliative Care Providers Are Adopting the GUIDE Model appeared first on Hospice News.

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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

AUGUST 23, 2024

Julia Hospice & Palliative Refuels De Novo Plans Pennsylvania-based Julia Hospice & Palliative (JHPC) has reignited plans to launch a de novo after experiencing pandemic-related setbacks. Dubbed Julia House, the facility will provide inpatient hospice and serve as an outpatient palliative care clinic.

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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

JANUARY 3, 2024

The Value in Health Care Act would extend the 5% incentive into 2024 and 2025 — a move that could foster greater opportunities for palliative care providers working in alternative payment systems, according to David Pittman, director of communications and regulatory affairs at the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS).

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) on Thursday announced a new name for their recently combined organization. Among these is a tool to help consumers find home health, hospice and palliative care providers within their communities.

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Hospice News

JUNE 24, 2024

1, 2025, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center will begin implementing a payment model for primary care known as the Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) Primary Care Flex Model under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). The role of a palliative care provider is crucial in this model.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 15, 2022

In this Voices interview, Hospice News sits down with Deanna Heath, VP of Hospice, KanTime, to talk about the potential impact of the Value-based Insurance Design (VBID) model on today’s hospice landscape. Hospice News: What career experiences do you most draw from, in your role today?

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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

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

JULY 18, 2023

The two-and-a-half-year clinical trial is expected to launch in autumn 2025. The post Penn Medicine Sets Out to Identify Best Palliative Care Models appeared first on Hospice News. Halpern, the John M. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is financing the study through a $27.5 million grant.

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Hospice News

MAY 29, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may not have accounted for the financial and administrative burdens associated with its implementation of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) Tool. In the proposed rule, CMS significantly underestimated the burden and costs hospices will incur to comply with HOPE requirements.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

It will also narrow its 2025 exposure to part D risk and delay the onboarding of one class of 2025 position partner given local payer dynamics. Pursuing this long-term vision has required some tough near-term decisions to exit selected partnerships and narrow the footprint of health plans we will work with in 2025.

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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. For Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 9, 2024

Hospice budgeting practices hinge on several factors, according to Matt Chadwick, CFO of Well Care Health. He shared his thoughts at the National Association of Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) Financial Management Conference in Las Vegas. You are going to see more regulations,” Doak said at the conference.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 26, 2024

The Alliance hinted that it was inching closer to a leadership decision earlier this month after completing an affiliation in June between the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). He also holds a masters degree in public health policy and management.

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