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‘Upgrading’ the Medicare Hospice Benefit

Hospice News

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.

Medicare 291
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Longer Hospice Stays Lead to Larger Medicare Cost Savings

Hospice News

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%

Medicare 342
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CMS to Allow Concurrent Hospice Care During VBID Extension

Hospice News

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.

2026 358
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CMS: Concurrent Hospice Care Improves Quality, Reduces Costs

Hospice News

Allowing patients to receive concurrent hospice and curative care reduces health care costs and improves quality. We really didn’t find subgroups that were not benefiting from the model,” Kranker told Hospice News. “We Enrolled patients were also more likely to transition to the traditional Medicare Hospice Benefit.

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Hospice Leaders: Change Must Come to the Medicare Hospice Benefit

Hospice News

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.

Medicare 290
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Hospice CARE Act Would Create Reimbursement for High-Acuity Hospice Services

Hospice News

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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Medicare Home Health Cuts Could Have Ripple Effect on Hospice, Palliative Care

Hospice News

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.

Medicare 318