The health care sector by 2033 will comprise more than 20% of the United States’ Gross Domestic Product, up from 17.6% in 2023. The nation’s total health expenditures are projected to reach $8.6 trillion in 2033, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that was published in Health […]
The proportion of hospices that do not have a star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is growing. CMS introduced the hospice star rating system in 2022 to help patients make informed decisions about which provider to choose. They appear on CMS’ Care Compare website. The scores are based on […]
Hospice News today unveiled its Hospice Top 50 report. The report details the largest hospice chains in the United States by Medicare claims. The hospice industry has undergone profound changes, shifting from a nonprofit, volunteer-driven movement to a sector dominated by for-profits, private equity and publicly traded companies. This report highlights the impact of market […]
Recent research findings are increasingly getting to the root causes of varying hospice outcomes among diverse patient populations and health care settings. Quality inequities among special needs, dually-eligible beneficiaries Dually-eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries may have a lower likelihood of receiving care from high-quality hospice providers, according to a recent analysis. Dual eligible beneficiaries are […]
New trends in hospice care delivery are pointing to a growing need for improved equitable access and diversified services that address a broader range of disease-specific patient needs. The scope of terminal conditions among hospice patient populations has seen some evolutions in recent years, according to Alix Ware, director of health policy at the National […]
Hospices in 2025 are laser-focused on organic growth rather than other tactics like acquisitions. Among 112 hospice professionals who responded to the 2024 Outlook Survey by Hospice News and Homecare Homebase, 60% said that expanding current locations would be the growth tactic they plan to use the most during 2025. About 64% of the respondents […]
Terminally ill patients often lack a firm understanding and awareness about their end-of-life care options, a trend researchers across the world are examining more closely. Underserved neurological patients Patients with neurodegenerative diseases are less likely to receive hospice care compared to others, according to a recent study published in the Neurology journal. The study spanned […]
Economic and financial headwinds have increasingly posed significant challenges for rural-based hospice providers, with some shuttering their programs in recent years. The trend has limited access to hospice services among an already underserved population while also raising concerns around quality and trust in equitable care delivery, according to a recent study. The ability for providers […]
Medicare Advantage special needs plan (SNP) beneficiaries were more likely to use lower-quality hospices than those enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia examined Medicare enrollment and claims data for 4.2 million decedents and 2.2 million hospice enrollees from Jan 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, […]
The nation’s total health expenditures rose 7.5% to $4.9 trillion in 2023, a new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found. This growth took place at a faster pace in 2023 than prior years. In 2022, health care spending rose at a rate of 4.6%. Total Medicare hospice spending accounted […]
