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The MedicareHospice 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.
Despite years of scrutiny over the duration of hospicecare, new data show that longer stays reduce health care costs in the last year of life by as much as 11%. All told, hospicecare — regardless of length of stay — saves Medicare approximately $3.5 billion for patients in their last year of life, a 3.1%
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.
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 MedicareHospice Benefit.
Calls have grown louder for an overhauled design of the MedicareHospice 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.
If enacted, the HospiceCare Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act could open up reimbursement pathways for high-acuity palliative services during a time when demand and costs are rising. The drafted HospiceCARE Act included potential avenues to improve payment for high-acuity palliative treatments.
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 hospicecare in 2023.
Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has introduced the HospiceCare Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, which, if enacted, could revolutionize the MedicareHospice Benefit. Hospice News / Merz Photography Hospice News / Merz Photography Rep.
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. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The hospice component of VBID is slated to end on Dec. This is up from 34.3 million as of September 2024.
Montana-headquartered Stillwater Hospice has found a successful rhythm to strategic rural-based growth and sustainability. Launched in 2017, the hospice company serves predominantly rural-based populations in Montana, northern Wyoming and South Dakota. How have the challenges of rural care delivery evolved in recent years?
The hospice community is contributing input to the development of the forthcoming HospiceCare Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act. Blumenauer announced the bill at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C. Hospice News photo by Merz Photography.
Medicare fee-for-service programs made $31.23 billion in improper payments during 2023, though a smaller proportion of those dollars went to hospices than in years prior. Hospices received nearly 5.4% of improper payments from Medicare in 2023, down from 12% in 2022, according to a new report from the U.S.
Eden Health of Northern Nevada, dba Eden Hospice, has acquired A Plus HospiceCare in its home state. Through the transaction, A Plus HospiceCare patients will have access to Eden Health’s additional services, including home health, home care and palliative care. Financial terms were undisclosed.
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. To keep pace, hospice providers must start preparing now, according to Phil Ward, president and CEO of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.
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. “The Warner (D-Va.)
The most recent iteration of HospiceCare Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act, currently in a discussion draft phase, could have some unintended consequences in the future of end-of-life care delivery. Developed by U.S. Blumenaur’s office and members of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Documentation errors and a fragmented health system pose the greatest risks for adverse drug events among hospices. McPherson also serves on the board of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). They also need to know which side effects are more concerning and should prompt a call to the hospice.”
Development of the HospiceCare Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) 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.
The health care space — including hospice — is increasingly shaped by numbers. During the past several years hospice providers have had to become experts in data management in order to remain competitive. Hospices’ cost-savings potential A study published in March revealed that hospice saved Medicare roughly $3.5
Hospice and behavioral health providers can better collaborate to improve outcomes among patients with severe enduring anorexia nervosa. Jonathan Treem, regional medical director of palliative care and hospice at Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group | Kaiser Permanente. Brandt is also a professor at MU’s Department of Medicine.
Rising regulatory scrutiny around length of stay may be having adverse impacts on health care costs and quality, hospice leaders said in a recent Congressional briefing. Longer stays yield greater savings Regulators have fixed their gaze on longer hospice stays as signals of potential fraud, waste and abuse.
The forthcoming HospiceCare Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act from U.S. Blumenauer announced the bill in June at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C. Hospice News / Merz Photography Hospice News / Merz Photography Rep. Hospice News photo by Merz Photography.
Hospice providers and stakeholders are carefully examining the proposed changes included in the recently introduced HospiceCare Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act as the bill begins its journey through the legislative process. this summer. “It
Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries are less likely to receive intensive treatments or burdensome transfers during the last six months of life compared to those in traditional Medicare, a new study has found. However, they identified gaps in which patients don’t always receive sufficient post-acute care. “We
Strong performance on the HospiceCare Index is becoming increasingly essential to securing payer and referral contracts and will be a key consideration in the federal government’s forthcoming Special Focus Program (SFP). The HospiceCare Index can be a referral driver.
Regulators have been zeroing in on longer lengths of stay in hospice, but patients with dementia may be caught in the crossfire. . Two policy changes have corresponded with reductions in hospice enrollment among dementia patients, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found.
Six nonprofit hospice providers recently joined forces to form the Hawaii Palliative and HospiceCare Collaborative. The initiative is an effort to ensure sustainable access amid rising demand for end-of-life and serious illness care. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaiis hospice program. Ho told local news.
The HospiceCare Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act, if enacted, would make changes to the ways hospices provide respite care. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is in the process of drafting the bill that would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight.
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 hospicecare through Medicare Advantage, in addition to some coverage of palliative care and transitional care.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently elaborated on its plans to expand public education campaigns designed to help protect hospice beneficiaries from fraudulent actors in the space. Program integrity concerns have heated up in the hospice industry.
As Jimmy Carter marks his sixth month in hospicecare, the provider community is raising awareness by saluting the former president. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) convened a group of hospice leaders at Times Square in New York City to commemorate Carter’s hospice experience.
The AIDS epidemic coincided with the birth of the hospice movement roughly four decades ago, carrying groundbreaking impacts on end-of-life care delivery for LGBTQ+ communities and beyond. In 1983, the MedicareHospice Benefit was established. It was a scary time,” Dresang told Hospice News.
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.
A California hospice owner and a freelance marketer have been convicted of Medicare fraud, totalling $3.2 Nita Palma of Glendale, California, in 2025 purchased Magnolia Gardens Hospice through her daughter and concealed her ownership from Medicare, according to the U.S. million in claims for purported hospicecare.
A growing number of patients with various dementia-related conditions will need end-of-life care in coming years. Hospices preparing for rising demand are facing compliance challenges, as these patients often require longer hospice stays. She co-founded the group roughly five years ago with colleagues in the subspecialty.
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.
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 hospicecare, which is the last thing we want to see happen.
The data come at a time when hospices are striving to better understand how to improve those groups’ end-of-life trajectories. Technology utilization has gained momentum in health care, including in hospicecare delivery. It risks limiting people’s access to the health care and support they need at the end of their lives.
Hospices’ public outreach efforts have evolved in recent years, with providers finding new strategies to dispel myths that have long impeded access to care. Nearly half, or 49.1%, of all Medicare decedents utilized hospice services in 2022, reported the National Alliance for Care at Home.
A revolution is needed in hospicecare, complete with a new mindset, updated care models and redesigned payment systems, Dr Monisha Pujari, medical director for Longleaf Hospice, told Hospice News. Hospice News spoke with Pujari about her vision for hospicecare and what it would take to make it a reality.
The MedicareHospice 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.
Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is drafting a landmark bill that, if enacted, would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight. Blumenauer announced the bill, the HospiceCare Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (HospiceCARE) Act, on Thursday at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C.
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.
The Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been the focus of much attention among providers, and many are watching closely for the demonstration’s outcomes. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the MCCM in 2016 to explore the idea of allowing hospice patients to receive concurrent curative care.
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