Beneficiaries participating in Medicare Advantage give high ratings to the coverage and services they receive, with as many as 98% reporting satisfaction, according to a recent Better Medicare Alliance poll. This feedback comes shortly after the Jan. 1 inception of the value-based insurance design demonstration, often called the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in. Payers and hospice […]
Race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are the leading differentiating factors fueling disparities in hospice utilization. Recent research reflects mounting concerns about inequitable access to hospice and palliative care across the United States. Researchers from the John Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore examined March 2020 data from three national health care databases that outlined […]
U.S. health care expenditures rose 4.6% to $3.8 trillion during 2019, growing at a similar rate to 2018, which saw a 4.7% increase, according to a new study in the journal Health Affairs. These data come at a time when hospices are working to demonstrate their cost saving capabilities to payers in value-based payment programs, […]
More Medicare beneficiaries are electing hospice than ever before, and they are generally receiving care for longer periods of time, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC). As the commission reports these gains, MEDPAC continues to recommend to Congress a 20% reduction in the aggregate cap for hospice payments. During 2019, hospice utilization among […]
The average length that patients receive palliative care in the United States is lower than in other countries, a recent study reported. Much of the nation remains underserved despite rising demand, with limited payment opportunities restricting growth. A review of palliative services delivered worldwide indicated a wide variation in length of care received by people […]
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. […]
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