‘Right to Try’ Act Could Delay Palliative Care

The Right to Try Act, designed to give patients with life-threatening illnesses access to experimental therapies, could delay referrals of pediatric cancer patients to palliative care, according to a viewpoint appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association-Oncology. “When pediatric oncologists perceive that patients and families want to ‘do everything,’ even broaching the idea […]

CMS Sequestered Funds Policy Stands—For Now

The Provider Reimbursement Review Board (PRRB) after two years of hearings has upheld the practice of including sequestered funds as part of hospice providers’ revenue when determining Medicare payment caps. Stakeholders intend to appeal the decision. “This decision is not a surprise,” Bill Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice told […]

Stark Law Updates to Impact Palliative Care Providers

The Trump administration is seeking extensive revisions to the Stark Law, a law designed to address conflicts of interest in physician referrals, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said in a speech to the Federation of American Hospitals. Currently referrals to hospice are exempt from the Stark Law, but the law […]

Acquisition Expands Traditions Health to Arizona 

Traditions Health, LLC, today extended its footprint to the Arizona market through the acquisition of Reflections Hospice and Palliative Care in Mesa. “I am extremely excited to expand our services to Arizona,” said Bryan Wolfe, the President and CEO of Traditions. “This is an enormous accomplishment for our organization, and we are very honored to […]

LHC Group Stepping Up Joint Ventures and Acquisitions in 2019

Following the completion of lucrative acquisition and joint venture activity during 2018, LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) will make M&A and JV transactions a cornerstone of its 2019 growth strategy. LHC on Thursday reported a record $8.226 million in revenue tied to acquisitions and joint ventures for full year 2018. Among the company’s 2019 plans is […]

California Hospice Reduces Energy Costs with Green Technology

Hospice by the Bay, a Larkspur-Calif.-based nonprofit, expects to see recent investments in solar power and efficient lighting pay off with substantially reduced energy costs and a diminished carbon footprint. The new 158 kW solar panel system was installed in the organization’s administrative offices in Fall 2018. The system began producing electricity in January after […]

Regulators, Hospice Providers Disconnect on Live Discharges

As the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pays closer attention to increasing rates of live discharges, hospice organizations are seeking ways to balance their mission to provide patient-centered care with their obligation to meet regulatory requirements. In 2015, U.S. hospice providers discharged 160,000 individuals before end-of-life, representing 16.7 percent of all hospice […]

Amedisys CEO: Hospice Acquisitions Remain Top Priority

Despite spending over $340 million on hospice acquisitions in 2018, Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) says it plans to continue investing heavily even as multiples continue to be at record levels. “Capital deployment on hospice acquisitions remains our first priority,” CEO Paul Kussarow said Thursday in a conference call. Amedisys in 2018 became the third largest […]

Crossroads HeartLink Program Boosts Patient Satisfaction, Cuts Readmissions

Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care, a privately owned provider, has developed a program to support congestive heart failure patients and their caregivers, improve patient satisfaction, and potentially reduce costly readmissions. Crossroads provides hospice and palliative care to approximately 1 million patients annually in Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kansas. The organization’s average daily […]

Expert Panel Releases First Guidelines for Hospice Methadone Therapy

A panel of 15 U.S. and Canadian experts has developed the first hospice- and palliative care-specific guidelines for safe and effective use of methadone. Hospice providers increasingly turning to methadone as an effective and cost-effective method of managing patients’ pain but often lacked guidance on safe practices for prescribing and administering the drug. Methadone is […]