Hospice News

JANUARY 23, 2025

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. If youre a rural hospice, you may have higher reimbursement needs.

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Hospice News

JUNE 28, 2023

But in time, her drive to improve patients’ quality of life led her to the hospice and palliative care fields. Templeton now is a hospice physician consultant at Weatherbee Resources as well as medical director for Texas-based Hendrick Hospice Care. What qualities or characteristics would such a person possess?

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Hospice News

MARCH 4, 2025

The value-based agreement contracts Thyme Care with Humana Medicare Advantage plans, giving them access to their beneficiaries. Humana Medicare Advantage members who are eligible for the program in Michigan, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and New Jersey may now receive services from Thyme Care.

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Hospice News

APRIL 16, 2025

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) include five areas of social determinants of health: food and housing insecurity, transportation needs, utility difficulties and interpersonal safety. Dr. Darren Schulte, Dr. Tracy Romanello and Dr. Cameron Muir at the Hospice News ELEVATE event. Screening tools developed by the U.S.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 26, 2022

She returns to the company after nearly three years at the helm of San Diego-based The Elizabeth Hospice as its chief strategy officer. Bliss has more than 18 years of hospice leadership experience, along with 12 years of managing hospice and home health operations across multi-site locations.

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Hospice News

APRIL 21, 2025

Risk-based contracts may be the future of palliative care reimbursement as Medicare Advantage continues to ascend. We really feel the future is in risk-based contracting, and we think that palliative care is an excellent vehicle to take on risk with payers, Baumgardner told Hospice News at the ELEVATE conference in Florida.

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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. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has signaled its intention to align every Medicare beneficiary with a value-based payment system by 2030. Hospice is a great space in health care. Anderson said.

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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

APRIL 26, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed the implementation of hospice certifying physician Medicare enrollment requirements. CMS delayed the date to enroll in or opt out of Medicare until June 3 for physicians who certify hospice services.

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Hospice News

JUNE 15, 2023

After more than a decade working in hospice leadership, Alli Collins came across something she had never seen before — a financially viable, all-volunteer provider that is not Medicare-certified. I am the new executive director for Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 25, 2022

Buyers in a hot hospice M&A market are bringing compliance under a microscope as regulators keep a tight watch. All hospice transactions undergo some type of compliance review. But there’s nothing routine about these reviews in today’s current hospice regulatory environment. This includes the U.S.

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Hospice News

JUNE 21, 2024

Anti-kickback and health care fraud cases have recently cropped up in two southern states, with hospice personnel facing millions in fines and one owner facing imprisonment for their involvement. David Lovell, its founder and owner, launched the for-profit hospice in 2010, and the enterprise became Medicare-certified in 2012.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Texas-based Heart to Heart Hospice has launched a de novo in the West Columbia community in its home state. The new location is branded as Heart to Heart Hospice of the Riverbend and is now accepting patients. Similar to national demographic trends, a growing aging population is driving demand for hospice in Texas.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 28, 2024

A federal court has sentenced Dr. John Thropay, a former medical director for several hospice companies, to 37 months in prison for his involvement in a $2.8 million hospice fraud scheme. Among the companies for which Thropay worked was Blue Sky Hospice, located in Van Nuys, California.

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Hospice News

MAY 7, 2024

Fraudulent hospices continue to proliferate, and some may be moving between states to escape regulators. 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

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Cameron Muir has been named as the new CMO of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). His new title signals the organization’s strategic plans to reshape hospice care delivery through patient-centered, innovative approaches, according to NPHI CEO Tom Koutsoumpas.

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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

JUNE 14, 2023

Meanwhile, Medicare hospice spending is expected to more than double by 2032. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary also project that health care expenditures will represent 19.6% The report, published today in Health Affairs , did not contain hospice-specific data. and Medicaid by 3.2%.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Guaranteed’s New SVP of Growth, Strategy Tech-enabled hospice startup Guaranteed has named Ryan Malone as its new senior vice president of growth and strategy. Previously, he was head of growth at Mavencare, and served in sales manager and director roles at Hometeam from 2013 to 2016. The funding follows a $6.5

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Greater transparency in staff evaluation processes and increased education will be keys to navigating a range of hospice compliance challenges in a post-pandemic landscape. Transparency around hospice staffing and ownership is a large focus of program integrity efforts among regulators, Piland stated. On Wednesday, the U.S.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 4, 2023

John Mulder, chief consultant for hospice and palliative care medicine for Michigan’s Faith Hospice, was drawn to the field after witnessing his father’s difficult end-of-life experience. Having begun his practice 40 years ago in family medicine, he came to hospice in 1983 when he was asked to serve on the board of a local provider.

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Hospice News

JUNE 12, 2024

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. Jennifer Blechman, palliative care medical director at the Oregon-based nonprofit Partners in Care said at the Hospice News Virtual Staffing Summit.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 5, 2022

In this Voices interview, Hospice News sits down with Dr. Khai Nguyen , National Medical Director, Geriatrician for CHAP, to talk about the age-friendly care movement. Hospice News: What career experiences do you most draw from in your role today? That roundtable approach is key in hospice as it is at CHAP.

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Hospice News

MAY 22, 2024

But moving away from fee-for-service towards value-based payment could make a difference when it comes to hiring and retention, according to Dr. Jennifer Blechman, palliative care medical director at the Oregon-based nonprofit Partners in Care. Palliative care is also part of the hospice component of the U.S.

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Hospice News

JUNE 17, 2024

Joe Rotella, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), calls on hospices to maintain their core principles amid a churning sea of regulatory and economic changes. It has just seen so much growth in hospice and palliative care. Now, Rotella will soon retire from AAHPM.

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Hospice News

MARCH 12, 2024

Program integrity and an onslaught of audits are top of mind for many hospice providers in 2024. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We look forward to continuing our work with CMS and Congress to ensure an equitable and effective enforcement system that preserves access to nonprofit, mission driven hospice care.”

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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

JUNE 29, 2023

Hospices often lack the financial and staffing resources needed to fully support bereaved families. Gross is also a medical director at ANX Hospice Care. Gross is also a medical director at ANX Hospice Care. Hospices are not reimbursed enough to support grief care teams,” Gross told Hospice News.

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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

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Understanding payer priorities in defining the scope of quality is vital for hospices to thrive not only in traditional Medicare, but also in today’s value-based reimbursement climate. A hospice’s track record on these measures is likewise important when working with. Medicare Advantage plans.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Contessa is a subsidiary of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED), which the home health and hospice provider acquired in 2021 for $250 million. Since at least 2022, Contessa has been pursuing palliative care reimbursement through Medicare Advantage. Palliative care has always kind of sat in the shadows of hospice.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

District Judge Debra Brown has sentenced a Mississippi hospice physician to five years in prison for taking $16 million in fraudulent Medicare claims. Dr. Scott Nelson of Clevland, Mississippi was convicted last April of certifying patients for hospice who were not terminally ill. billion in the fiscal year ending Sept.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 13, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ramped up auditing activity in the space while also sunsetting the hospice component of its value-based insurance design (VBID) model demonstration ahead of its initial expiration. There were just some of the themes percolating among the most-read Hospice News coverage of 2024.

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Hospice News

MARCH 6, 2023

Hospice licensing should remain under the authority of state governments rather than federal agencies, though lawmakers “haven’t ruled anything out” when it comes to program integrity, according Rep. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on reported instances of hospice fraud in several states.

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Hospice News

JULY 20, 2022

Payers, including Medicare, like to see providers reduce the costs of care. As we’re looking to value-based care, ultimately, everyone is tasked with providing improved outcomes and in doing so at a reduced price point,” Ladabaum told Hospice News. “If Historically, the U.S.

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Hospice News

MARCH 25, 2024

Arizona-based Stoneridge Hospice launched services in 2020 with an aim to address a swelling aging population’s growing need for end-of-life care. Stoneridge Hospice provides home-based hospice and also contracts with other providers to offer facility-based services. Stoneridge Hospice launched in 2020.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Expanding palliative care relationships and joint venture partnerships is a priority for 2024, the Louisiana-based home health and hospice provider indicated in a filing with the U.S. In addition to these types of partnerships, Contessa also contracts directly with some payers, primarily Medicare Advantage plans. “We

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