For Chapters Health System President and CEO Andrew Molosky, the hospice model can lay a foundation for care delivery throughout the continuum with its emphasis on quality of life and person-centered interdisciplinary services. The Florida-based nonprofit is applying this approach to a wider range of services across a growing footprint. The organization has secured three […]
Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is seeing glimmers of improvement on the labor pressures that contributed to uneven earnings performance during 2022. The company has reduced its nurse turnover rate to the vicinity of 20%, surpassing the industry average, Brian Tanquilut, equity analyst for the investment banking firm Jefferies Financial Group, indicated in a note. Jeffries […]
Opportunities exist within risk-based payment models to improve coordination among providers and transitions of care between settings, according to Dr. Joseph Shega, executive vice president and chief medical officer for VITAS Healthcare, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHEM). While the Medicare benefit covers the vast majority of hospice care in the United States, other […]
Patients are more likely to receive palliative care if they can access social workers through their primary care providers, Veterans Health Administration (VA) research has found. Researchers analyzed records for 43,200 veterans with prior hospitalization who had received primary care at a VA site between October 2016 and September 2019. They found a 95% increase […]
Jonathan Fleece is the newly appointed CEO of the Florida-based nonprofit Empath Health following the retirement of his predecessor Rafael Scuillo earlier this week. Empath provides hospice, home health care, primary care, palliative care, PACE, AIDS and sexual wellness care, and adult day services to a combined total of more than 23,000 individuals. The organization […]
Through acquisitions and contracts with providers, more payers are going all-in on home-based care. The quest for cost reductions, often through risk-based models, is leading a rising number of insurance companies and other payers to make (sometimes) huge investments in the space. Among them is UnitedHealth Care (NYSE: UNH). These investments underscore the rising profile […]
A federal court has sentenced Akop Atoyan, former co-owner of three California home health and hospice agencies, to 25 months in prison for health care fraud and kickback schemes. Atoyan pled guilty to the changes. He and his wife Liana Karapetyan owned ANG Health Care, Excel Hospice, and Excel Home Healthcare in the Sacramento area. […]
Hospices should be required to report all instances of abuse and neglect, even if the perpetrator was not an employee, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires operators to report incidents of patient abuse and neglect that involve their staff. If the agency follows […]
A new, publicly traded company devoted to exploring the use of psychedelics in palliative care is in development. Psyence Biomed, a subsidiary of the Canadian biotech company Psyence Group Inc., has signed a definitive business combination agreement with Newcourt Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: NCAC) to create the new organization. Psyence Biomed expects to receive a minimum […]
Expanding its palliative care business is a rising priority for Amedisys Inc., (NASDAQ: AMED) following Chairman Paul Kusserow’s return as CEO. The company’s palliative care strategy rests on the back of risk-based payment models, primarily Medicare Advantage, Kusserow indicated at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. This push dovetails with the home health and hospice provider’s […]