Hospice News

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Hospices have grown increasingly frustrated by fraudulent operators in the space and how their activities affect legitimate operators’ financial health. This is the second of a two-part Hospice News series that explores how fraud, waste and abuse in the hospice space could create headwinds for the industry at large.

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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

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

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

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.

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Hospice News

APRIL 5, 2023

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. Further changes will occur in the larger model during the extension years.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

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.

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Hospice News

JUNE 7, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated its guidance on the recently implemented hospice certifying physician Medicare enrollment requirement. That instruction, if implemented, could have resulted in major negative impacts on hospices and the patients and families they serve.

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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 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

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. The program, set to begin Jan.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

A federal jury has convicted Dr. John Thropay, a hospice medical director, on charges of health care fraud in a $2.8 Thropay was the medical director of several hospice companies, including Blue Sky Hospice, based in Van Nuys, California. The post Blue Sky Hospice Medical Director Convicted of $2.8M million scheme.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 11, 2024

The Chicago-based Elea Institute is seeking to improve public awareness of hospice and palliative care as well as convene discussions about ways to rethink the Medicare benefit. One is access to hospice and palliative care and serious illness care, then education and awareness. We boiled it down to three major areas.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

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 News

JUNE 14, 2023

Hospices preparing for rising demand are facing compliance challenges, as these patients often require longer hospice stays. Many of these patients could benefit from receiving hospice care sooner and longer, but regulatory requirements can make that a challenging feat for providers, she said.

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Hospice News

JUNE 5, 2024

A slew of fraudulent hospices in California are dodging consequences by shuffling patients around between provider numbers. That’s according to multiple sources who spoke with Hospice News, expressing their concerns about patterns of fraud continuing even as government regulators crack down on the sector.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized its 2024 home health rule, including the implementation of a hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). The rule also finalizes the proposed “36-month”rule for hospice providers.

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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

JANUARY 11, 2024

Finding the right balance of support and career development for bereavement care professionals is key to recruitment and retention as hospices combat labor strains. The weight of providing bereavement care can take a heavy toll on staff and impact turnover rates, according to Jennifer Kincaid, chief people officer at Hospice of the Piedmont.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

health care is moving steadily towards value-based reimbursement, and having a robust palliative care program can help hospices ensure they are not left behind. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is working to ensure that 100% of Medicare beneficiaries are aligned with a risk-based payment model by 2030.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 17, 2024

Hospice providers, industry groups and other stakeholders recently penned a letter urging Congress to improve payment infrastructures that would increase access to end-of-life care among rural populations. For some rural areas, they’re not seen as financially feasible or sustainable to larger programs,” Kuhlman told Hospice News. “So,

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Hospice News

MAY 9, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on continuing evidence of hospice fraud and quality issues. We must urgently address the bad actors who are abusing the hospice benefit and harming patients and families,” the legislators wrote in the letter. Members of Congress are demanding answers from the U.S.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to fraud allegations that have resulted in licensure and billing privilege revocation. Shaarawy provides internal and family medicine, palliative care and hospice services and operates a private practice in Canoga Park, California. court documents stated.

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Hospice News

JULY 3, 2023

The two lawmakers, along with others, also brought forth a second bill designed to ensure that hospice patients who need blood transfusions can receive them. intended to improve quality and access to blood transfusion care for hospice patients. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) Established in 1972, NHSC is part of the U.S.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Hospice of the Chesapeake has unfurled a new dementia care program aimed at providing improved emotional, educational and practical support for patients and their caregivers as their conditions progress. The new program provides patients and their caregivers with direct support from Hospice of the Chesapeake’s interdisciplinary care team.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Program integrity issues that have heated up in the hospice space during the past five years reached a boiling point in 2023. Hospice providers have seen an array of increased regulatory oversight in 2023. There is scrutiny on hospice care [that’s] setting the stage for the next phase of what hospice oversight looks like.

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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

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

The long term care company Mission Health Services has acquired Utah-based Angel’s Crossing Home Hospice. The deal marks Mission’s first foray into the hospice space. About 15,900 Medicare decedents in Utah elected hospice in 2022, a rate of slightly more than 59%. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

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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 / Merz Photography Hospice News / Merz Photography Rep.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 3, 2024

NuHealth is partnering with Hospice of New York to offer inpatient end-of-life care to its patients. 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. “By

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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

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding its enhanced oversight for new hospices in fraud-ridden states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. The agency in July 2023 first announced a “provisional period of enhanced oversight” for new hospices in those states.

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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

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Today’s hospice executives are entering the field with change in mind for improved quality. Hospice News spoke with c-suite executives who have recently stepped into their roles to learn more about what led them to the space and their top priorities. Regulatory challenges are among hospice leaders’ most significant concerns.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

Stakeholders and policymakers who shape the hospice industry are making connections between a provider’s tax status and quality indicators. Their perceptions could have significant repercussions on the outlook of hospice investments. More private equity (PE) investors have stepped into the hospice and home health space in recent years.

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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

JUNE 13, 2024

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 Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act, on Thursday at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 21, 2024

Utilization of the general inpatient level of care (GIP) is frequently the subject of audits by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), and avoiding or responding to that scrutiny requires strict compliance to a complex web of rules. If GIP billing exceeds that metric, the hospice must refund those payments to Medicare.

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