Hospice News

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

He was so intrigued that he gathered a few volunteers and began Hospice of the Valley, which was largely a volunteer organization living off of a few grants here and there prior to when hospice Medicare reimbursement came around in the early 1980s. Over the years, Hospice of the Valley has grown.

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Hospice News

MARCH 4, 2025

Texas-based New Day provides home health, hospice, palliative and personal care services across 31 locations in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and in its home state. Scott Herman said in a statement shared with Hospice News. Dombi has litigated home health care policy matters since 1976.

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Hospice News

JULY 14, 2022

Margin pressures from the proposed cuts to Medicare home health rates could impact palliative care and hospice. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in June released its proposed home health reimbursement rule for 2023, which included a 4.2% pay hike for hospice care in 2023.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Kennedy voiced a commitment to tackling the root drivers of escalating health care spending across the continuum, much of which is focused on managing chronic diseases, he indicated in the Senate hearing. HHS subagencies include the U.S.

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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.

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Hospice News

MARCH 22, 2023

Despite years of scrutiny over the duration of hospice care, new data show that longer stays reduce health care costs in the last year of life by as much as 11%. All told, hospice care — regardless of length of stay — saves Medicare approximately $3.5 billion for patients in their last year of life, a 3.1%

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Hospice News

JULY 13, 2023

This is the first of a two-part service that will detail key findings from recent research on hospice care, featuring numbers that could influence they ways hospices communicate and operate. Hospices’ cost-savings potential A study published in March revealed that hospice saved Medicare roughly $3.5

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility. NuHealth was formally known as Nassau Health Care Corp. “By By offering inpatient hospice care at NUMC, we are ensuring all of Nassau County’s residents have access to compassionate end-of-life services regardless of their ability to pay,” said Megan C.

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Hospice News

APRIL 10, 2024

The Medicare Hospice Benefit could use an “upgrade” to ensure greater flexibility that may be necessary to fully support patients’ needs. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should consider is retiring the six-month terminal prognosis requirement and allowing for some concurrent care, Wallace and Wladkowski indicated.

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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. The drafted Hospice CARE Act included potential avenues to improve payment for high-acuity palliative treatments.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 11, 2024

South Carolina-based Hospice Care of the Lowcountry is rebranding as MiraSol Health. The hospices new name contains the Latin word Sol, meaning sun. In addition to hospice, MiraSol offers community-based palliative care and counseling services.

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2025

Underserved patient populations are facing a growing deficit when it comes to accessing quality, inclusive hospice care at the end of life. Claritza Rios and Alicia Bloom at the Hospice News ELEVATE conference. Health equity gaps have swelled in hospice care in recent years. Hospice utilization rates fell by 9.4%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has introduced the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, which, if enacted, could revolutionize the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Hospice News photo by Merz Photography. The Alliance shares Rep.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

The SFP has the authority to impose enforcement remedies against hospices with poor performance based on its algorithm. Hospices flagged by the SFP also will be surveyed every six months rather than the current three-year cycle and could face monetary penalties or expulsion from the Medicare program.

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Hospice News

MARCH 7, 2025

How can we really partner with them on the talking points to broach these goals-of-care conversations so they understand what is included through Medicare and Medicaid services while still being comfortable in their homes. What are the services that Mahogany Home Health and Hospices is offering?

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 1, 2024

The workforce shortage and value-based care will shape the future of hospice, according to some providers. The health care reimbursement environment is moving towards significant change. Examples include the Kidney Care Choices Model, the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model and the Enhancing Oncology Model.

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Hospice News

JUNE 12, 2024

Palliative care clinical recruitment involves some unique elements compared to other health care settings. Among the challenges is a general lack of awareness of palliative care and its distinctions from hospice among the public, clinicians in other settings and payers. Palliative care is relatively a new field.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Rising demand and demographic tailwinds are propelling rapid growth in both the hospice and palliative care markets. These markets are growing partly because of demographic trends and partly because of increasing acceptance of both palliative and hospice,” Tanquilut told Hospice News. “As billion by 2030, a rise from $34.5

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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 11, 2024

Dallas-based home health and hospice provider Intrepid USA Healthcare Services’ geographic footprint spans 66 locations in 14 states. Intrepid has two locations in Beaumont, Texas, where the company provides home-based hospice, palliative and supportive care services. Hospice utilization rates hovered at 49.1%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Improving Access to Advance Care Planning Act to the Senate designed to promote greater access to those services among Medicare beneficiaries. Yet, societal factors and poor coordination among health care providers can limit its effectiveness and utilization. Warner (D-Va.)

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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 7, 2024

Gross margin for the hospice segment fell slightly to 42.9% Hospice results were in part impacted by a -4% decrease in patient admissions and a 0.5% Other factors included rising hospice care delivery costs such as investments in clinical staffing and higher compensation and benefit costs, among others, the company reported.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 7, 2024

Hospice reimbursement trends influence palliative care payment and delivery. Among the significant changes coming this year is the end of the hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) model, as of Dec. Value-based payment models such as VBID incentivize quality measurement and reporting among providers.

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Hospice News

MAY 22, 2024

A transition from fee-for-service to value-based payment models could help palliative care providers boost recruitment and retention. Providers walk a tightrope when it comes to ensuring that their palliative care services are financially sustainable, including the ability to attract and compensate staff at competitive rates.

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Hospice News

JULY 13, 2022

More than a dozen hospice advocacy groups have called on congressional leadership to intervene in a proposed 2.7% bump in Medicare payments, which they say is insufficient in light of COVID-19 and staffing headwinds. The organizations signed a letter to party leaders in both chambers of Congress. Congress should urge [the U.S.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 2, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a new avenue of funding for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) with implications for palliative care providers. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced the new payment demonstration in March.

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Hospice News

MAY 19, 2025

Our expansion into Marion County, Florida, further supports our commitment to meet the needs of underserved communities where access to high-acuity hospice care is limited, Westfall told Hospice News in an email. VITAS average daily census reached 22,336 in the first quarter of 2025.

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Hospice News

JULY 16, 2024

The hospice community is contributing input to the development of the forthcoming Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. NPHI has consistently advocated for reform to the Medicare hospice benefit reimbursement methodology.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2025

Regardless of whether hospices choose to explore service diversification, their operations have seen significant changes since the establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit a trend largely driven by patient preferences and needs, according to Empath Health CEO Jonathan Fleece.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

Interest has mounted in the palliative care arena, but building and sustaining these services requires stronger reimbursement and workforce resources. But insufficient payment pathways represent a large hurdle for palliative care’s growth potential, Kulik said. “If That makes palliative care’s outlook good.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Some federal legislators are working to address workforce issues in the hospice space, as well as bolstering support for family caregivers. In a fractious political environment, hospice and palliative care policy is one area in which members of both parties find common ground. Earl Blumenhauer (D-Ore.)

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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). This fits nicely into palliative care.

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Hospice News

MARCH 15, 2024

McPherson also serves on the board of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can have an impact on mortality and morbidity among seriously ill patients, according to researchers of a 2019 study published in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy. About 81.5%

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

More than two-thirds (67%) of liver cancer patients receiving radiotherapy concurrently with supportive/palliative care reported reduced pain intensity levels after one month of treatment in a study published in The Lancet Oncology, a Science Direct journal. This compared to 22% of patients who received supportive care without radiation.

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Hospice News

JUNE 6, 2023

Compassus and VNS Health have formed a value-based collaboration aimed at improving access, awareness and quality of hospice and palliative care services. The two home-based care organizations are joining forces in a Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model partnership.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Hospice providers and stakeholders are carefully examining the proposed changes included in the recently introduced Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act as the bill begins its journey through the legislative process. this summer. “It

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