St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care, Treasure Coast Hospice Plan to Affiliate

Two Florida nonprofit hospice providers have signaled their intention to affiliate — St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care and Treasure Coast Hospice. Combined, the two organizations serve patients in Brevard, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties in their home state. Executives from St. Francis Reflections and Treasure Coast Hospice leadership expect the affiliation to complete in […]

Home-Based Care a Continuing Growth Engine for UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is leveraging its subsidiary Optum to drive growth in value-based care arrangements, with building out its home-based care capabilities as a high priority. This drive is evidenced by Optum’s pending acquisition of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) and its purchase of home health and hospice provider LHC Group, which closed in February. By […]

The First Year of Hospice VBID Is the Hardest for Payers and Providers

Implementation of the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been challenging for both payers and providers, though a recent analysis indicates that it may get easier over time. The U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned the RAND Corp. to conduct the analysis of the program, formally called the hospice component of the value-based […]

Stamford Health Reinstates Palliative Care Program

Connecticut-based Stamford Health has relaunched an enhanced version of its shuttered palliative care program. The health system’s revamped service line will be available to all patients seen at its Carl & Dorothy Bennett Cancer Center. While in its original incarnation the palliative care program was offered only to inpatients, the center will now provide that […]

What Hospices Need to Know about Emerging COVID Strains

COVID-19 cases are rising in various parts of the country with potential implications for hospice and palliative care operators. Cases of the virus began to uptick in July, and some fear an even bigger surge as winter moves many people indoors and in closer quarters. More than 18,000 people in the United States were hospitalized […]

Inside the TPE Audit: Best Practices for Hospice Agencies

While most agencies will never encounter a Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) audit under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), prudent hospice care providers will understand the purpose and process of the TPE program in order to best prepare should they encounter an audit in the near or long term. The TPE process […]

Congress Members Call on CMS to Revise Proposed Hospice Special Focus Program

Four members of Congress led by Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) have called for changes to the forthcoming Special Focus Program (SFP) from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) were also signatories on the letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and […]