Three California-based hospices — the Elizabeth Hospice in San Diego, Mission Hospice & Home Care in San Mateo and Hospice of Santa Cruz County — have formed a strategic partnership called the California Hospice Network to support the growth of community-based hospice care throughout their state. Though each network member will remain a distinct, independent […]
Cornerstone Healthcare, Inc., the hospice and home health subsidiary of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENSG), has acquired the assets of Tucson, Ariz.-based Agape Hospice and Palliative Care. Financial terms were not disclosed. Agape will not rebrand as a result of this transaction and will retain staff and management. The hospice will become part of […]
Leaders in the influential Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives have called for stronger supervision of hospice regulatory programs in a letter to Seema Verma, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) signed the letter requesting […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its annual final rule for hospice payments in Fiscal Year 2020, including a payment rebasing that raises rates 2.7% for three higher-acuity levels of care and cuts routine home care by a corresponding 2.7%. With regulatory scrutiny on the rise, some hospice providers are concerned […]
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is a payer that has become a health care provider through the 2018 acquisitions of Kindred Healthcare and the hospice provider Curo, which operates 245 locations in 22 states. The two acquisitions now form the nucleus of the company’s Humana at Home subsidiary. Integrating Kindred and Curo into the insurance giant’s […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rebased payment rates for the four levels of hospice care in a final rule for Fiscal Year 2020. Among other provisions the rule includes a new requirement that hospices provide an addendum to election statements that would detail care, treatment and services the patient would […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has launched a new caucus to focus on legislation and policy that impacts palliative care. The legislators said they expect the Comprehensive Care Caucus to raise awareness of palliative care, promote utilization, improve care coordination, support caregivers and expand access to palliative care services. Founding members of the Comprehensive […]
Hospices are under increasing levels of regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Inspector General’s Office (OIG), particularly in the form of audits, and many hospice leaders are expressing frustration with the associated costs and workload. Hospice News’ Confessions interviews give […]
The hospice and home health care companies for the third quarter in a row have seen the highest multiples of any health care sector in merger and acquisitions transactions, reaching 22.7x in the second quarter of 2019, according to auditing and consulting firm PwC. These high valuations for hospice and home health acquisitions come in […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule that would allow physician assistants (PAs) to serve as attending physicians for hospice patients. However, due to current regulatory restrictions the PA may not be an employee or contracted with the hospice. If made final, the rule would allow PAs, acting within their […]
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
