Enhabit’s 2023 M&A Strategy Leans Toward Hospice Assets

After becoming a public entity last year, Enhabit Inc.’s (NYSE: EHAB) M&A journey has narrowed towards hospice, diverting less in home health’s direction. Reimbursement uncertainties, shrinking pools of available assets, and rising valuations in the home health space are forces steering the company’s sights towards hospice, according to Enhabit executives. Large-scale consolidation in both home […]

VA Health System Boosts Palliative Referrals with Clinical Education

Integrating palliative consultations into care management for heart failure patients improves utilization and fosters greater understanding among referring clinicians, research from the Veteran Affairs (VA) Connecticut Healthcare System has found. VA Connecticut Healthcare System researchers recently rolled out the educational study to determine whether consultative services would boost palliative care referrals for hospital-based heart failure […]

Compassus, VNS Health Team Up to Manage End-of-Life Care for Medicare Advantage Payers

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. Through the collaboration, VNS Health and Compassus will help MA health plans to manage […]

‘Payment and Workforce Are Certainly the Challenges’: Forces Shaping Palliative Care’s Future

The palliative care field is in the midst of evolution, with reimbursement and workforce dynamics being the dominant forces influencing sustainable growth in the space. Palliative providers are focusing their greatest efforts on navigating choppy, and often lagging, reimbursement streams to meet increased demand for serious illness care. These streams flow directly into their ability […]

CMMI: Data Critical to Developing Health Equity Quality Measures for Hospices in Value-Based Payment

Patient data collection is critical in how the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is developing health equity quality measures for hospices in value-based payment. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in 2022 announced a “strategy refresh” that included a renewed focus on health care equity in payment model design. Among […]

Wage Litigation Rising Among Hospices

Hospice providers can face legal repercussions if they don’t strike the right balance in their payroll practices. Miscalculated compensation or miscommunicated policies are among the most common reasons that hospices are facing legal concerns related to staff compensation, according to Russell Bruch, partner at Morgan Lewis. Bruch assists employers with legal wage and salary matters […]

As Inpatient Hospice Doors Swing Open, Others Slam Shut Nationwide

Patient preferences are trending towards home-based hospice care, leaving some inpatient facilities between a rock and a hard place. Meanwhile, other hospices diversify and expand their inpatient service capabilities. MercyOne Shutters Hospice House in Iowa MercyOne has closed its Iowa-based hospice center due to economic headwinds. The health system will no longer offer inpatient services […]

Psychedelics, Cannabis Show Promise in End-of-Life Care, But More Research Needed on the Risks

Research is growing around how certain substances such as psychedelics and cannabis can aid in treating pain, anxiety, depression, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), grief, migraines and other medical conditions. Medical cannabis can also be beneficial in symptom management for cancer patients, according to recent research. For instance, certain compounds in the cannabis plant hold […]