Medication costs are among hospice providers’ biggest expenses, and some are asking policymakers to take action on prices. High prices on drugs, as well as shortages, are problems that permeate the entire health care system. While recent industry-wide data are scarce on drug costs for hospice patients, providers often identify these as their second-highest expense, […]
As the recently appointed CFO of The Pennant Group (NASDAQ: PNTG), Lynette Walborn has her sights set on multiple avenues of growth — including expanding the company’s workforce. Walborn came to Pennant from Raising Cane’s Restaurants, LLC, where she was vice president of financial reporting and tax, overseeing acquisitions, accounting systems and equity management. The […]
Increasingly, both policymakers and providers are seeing potential opportunities to reform the Medicare Hospice Benefit, including the prospect of concurrent care. Driving these conversations is the need to lighten the nation’s heavy health care spend, which in 2021 reached $4.3 trillion, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Questions are also […]
A new primary care-focused payment model demonstration could create new partnership opportunities for hospice and palliative care providers. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled the Making Care Primary (MC) model, which will launch in July 2024 in eight states — Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North […]
Four U.S. senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would direct the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a palliative care-specific payment model demonstration. The bill’s sponsors include Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). The four legislators in 2019 co-founded the Senate’s bipartisan Comprehensive […]
Hospice leaders and lawmakers are meeting on Capitol Hill today to address the pressing issue of program integrity, among other policy priorities. Driving these conversations are the multiple reports of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. Thus far, California […]
Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) has received an unsolicited proposal from the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum to acquire all outstanding shares of the home health and hospice provider’s stock. Amedisys indicated in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Optum has proposed an all-cash transaction at $100 per share. This, […]
Hosparus Health has acquired Baptist Health Deaconess Hospice in Madisonville, Kentucky, for an undisclosed sum. The organization is a service of Baptist Health Deaconess health system. Founded in 1978, Hosparus Health’s 600 employees and 500 volunteers provide care for more than 10,000 patients annually, including hospice, medical care, palliative medicine, mental health and bereavement services. […]
Citing inflation and other headwinds, hospice providers and industry organizations are urging the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider the proposed 2.8% base rate increase for 2024. This is the first of a series of Hospice News articles that will cover the industry’s response to the proposed rule. CMS published the […]
Though nonprofit hospices now represent a smaller slice of the industry than in years past, they continue to care for more than half of patients in the United States who elect the benefit. The number of hospices operating nationwide rose to 5,358 in 2021, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). This is a […]
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