The Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (ACO REACH) payment model will launch on Jan. 1, 2023, and hospices that collaborate with participating ACOs could realize some unique benefits. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation announced the program in February to replace the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) models. The […]
Labor shortages and other headwinds have battered hospices during 2022, including large companies. Some of these providers are making near-term investments that cut into revenue but are expected to pay off in the long run. Providers are seeing troubles on multiple fronts, as reflected in third quarter earnings reports. This year brought the return of […]
Hospice leaders are working with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure providers get a fair shake when the agency’s forthcoming Special Focus Program (SFP) comes to fruition. Initially proposed for 2022, the agency opted to delay implementation in response to feedback from hospices and industry organizations. Instead, CMS is convening […]
The interventions that VITAS Healthcare has implemented in response to the industry-wide labor shortage have generated some positive momentum that extends beyond the number of workers on the payroll. VITAS is a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE). Like many in the space, the hospice provider has been fighting an uphill battle against COVID headwinds […]
The bereavement care tech platform Empathy is now partnering with the software company Benekiva in an effort to streamline life insurance claims processing and help families access benefits more quickly. Benekiva’s claims automation platform is designed to simplify and accelerate that process, which on average can take as long as 13 months, according to a […]
The Pennant Group (NASDAQ: PNTG) expects emerging rebounds in skilled nursing and assisting living — and its pipeline of forthcoming acquisitions — to offset the impact of continuing labor headwinds. The company reduced its guidance for calendar year 2022 in the wake of falling hospice lengths of stay, rising wages, the return of Medicare sequestration, […]
Two years after her own father passed away, entrepreneur Jessica McGlory felt called to launch her own provider company, California-based Guaranteed, which began operations three months ago in Los Angeles. McGlory came to the space with the goal of returning hospice care back to its roots, while integrating a more modern approach to meet the […]
The Florida-based nonprofit Empath Health has expanded with a new multi-service location as well as an adult day center oriented around the needs of veterans. The de novo, located in Florida’s Hillsborough County, initially will house a branch of the Empath affiliate Suncoast Hospice. The organization also plans to add home health, medical services, grief […]
Regulators have been keeping an increasingly close watch on hospice providers, and this may intensify in 2023. Moving into next year, hospices have a spectrum of crucial issues on their plates. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be implementing a revised compliance survey process and has convened a Technical Expert Panel […]
Behavioral health care is a rising star in health care in terms of growth and demand, and the trend is leading some hospices to invest in the space. Several considerations are driving their growing interest. For one, addressing the psychosocial and emotional aspects of dying and bereavement has been an intergral part of the hospice […]