The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM) demonstration has reduced the agency’s costs by $26 million to date. The demonstration, established in 2016 and scheduled to end in June 2021, is designed to test the efficacy and efficiency of providing hospice concurrent with curative care. CMS announced the […]
Rates of hospice utilization were higher among veterans than other Medicare decedents, according to recent research. With more than half of veterans receiving care in the home, the findings reflect a growing industry-wide trend toward community-based care. The study from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Based Primary Care (VA-HBPC) found rates of […]
Families of Medicare Advantage enrollees report being less satisfied with the end-of-life care their loved ones received than those covered by traditional Medicare. Stakeholders have called for careful quality monitoring as the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in approaches. Families of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were more likely to say that care was “less than excellent,” and indicated […]
More patients suffering from the COVID-19 virus have been discharged from the hospital to hospice or skilled nursing facilities this year compared to typical Medicare fee-for-service patients. A report from the data analytics firm HealthPivots compared hospital discharge numbers from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) using inpatient claims information. Researchers examined […]
About 80% of family caregiver survey respondents indicated that they would select a hospice based on the providers’ ability to communicate in a timely fashion. Timely communication can also impact the ratings that family’s give hospices in the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey, according to new research conducted by Citus Health. […]
Family caregivers for patients in hospice or who are suffering from serious illness tend to see declines in their own health. A study by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA) found that the stress and pressure of caregiving can contribute to conditions such as high blood pressure, depression and anxiety, as well as increase […]
A majority of patients continue to experience short lengths of stay in hospice, in many cases limiting their ability to receive the full benefits of those services. Confronted with this reality, providers are seeking new ways to connect with patients further upstream in the course of their illness. Nearly 54% Medicare decedents received hospice care […]
A rising number of hospice providers nationwide have diversified services to include palliative care in an effort to engage patients further upstream and open up new lines of revenue. Despite these efforts, palliative care remains widely untapped in many areas throughout the United States, with knowledge gaps about the nature of these services acting as […]
The community in which a patient resides may be a key factor that influences their decision of whether or not to elect hospice care. New research indicates regional variations in patients’ end-of-life decision making. Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s (BIDMC) Center for Health Care Delivery Science took a close look at regional patterns […]
Patients who receive hospice earlier saved an average of $14,000 in health care costs during the last three months of life compared to patients who were admitted for a mid-term stay, according to new research from health care data analytics firm Trella Health. Patients who did not elect hospice accrued $27,455 more in health care […]