Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) have called on the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “scrutinize” the pending acquisition of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) by Optum Health. Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHN), in June penned its agreement to acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction […]
Dr. 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 […]
Hospice will continue to be in a state of flux this year and next, with a heavy focus on regulation and supporting and growing the workforce, according to Ben Marcantonio, COO and interim CEO for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). The coming year may also be a time of significant change for […]
Houston Hospice is opening up its inpatient unit for use by other providers. Other hospices will soon be able to admit patients to the company’s unit in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. They will be able to coordinate with Houston Hospice and deliver General Inpatient Care (GIP), helping to avoid hospital readmissions. “Many of […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been gradually implementing changes to the hospice survey process and enforcement remedies, including civil monetary penalties in some instances. Congress approved the survey changes and enforcement actions through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which incorporated language from the Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort […]
A federal judge has sentenced Jesus Virlar-Cadena, formerly a medical director for the Texas-based hospice company Merida Group, to 50 months in prison for his role in a $152 million scheme. The court also ordered Virlar-Cadena to pay $9 million in restitution and $9 million in forfeiture. The Texas Medical Board suspended his medical license […]
Palliative care providers may be uniquely positioned to develop partnerships that support patients through the new Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model recently unveiled by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. While the program is not a palliative care model, those providers are well-suited to deliver the kind of care that GUIDE outlines. […]
The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with Homecare Homebase. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of home health, hospice care, senior housing, skilled nursing, and behavioral health. To see this year’s Future Leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/. Amy Rose, product director, Palliative Care […]
Health plan participation in the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) will fall in 2024. For calendar year 2024, 13 Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) will participate in the program’s hospice component, providing coverage through 78 health plans in 19 states. In 2023, 15 MAOs participated in hospice VBID, including 119 health plans […]
Hospices tend to see an increase in dementia patient admissions as well as home-based utilization following an acquisition by a private equity firm or a publicly traded company. Among hospices purchased by PE firms, the number of dementia patients served rose by 6% compared to for-profit providers that were not acquired, a new study in […]