A recently relaunched end-of-life doula training program may be fanning the flames of stronger hospice patient and family engagement. The International End-of-life Doula Association (INELDA) recently revamped its training program to better support hospice providers and the patients they serve. The association has honed key educational components of the program over the past decade with […]
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The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed 2.4% hospice base rate increase is woefully inadequate, and new physician attestation requirements may place undue burdens on providers, according to comments from the National Alliance for Care at Home. The Alliance on Tuesday released its public comments on the 2026 hospice payment rule, which […]
Patients receiving hospice in one of the most common end-of-life care settings may not be receiving adequate services. Researchers from Ohio University and the University of Rochester recently examined Medicare claims and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) data of 51,303 assisted living residents who received hospice care from 2018 to 2019. Quality […]
Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) is applying three key strategies to advance their hospice business, including organic growth, de novos and potential acquisitions. The company currently operates nearly twice as many home health locations than hospice sites. Consequently, their de novo and M&A strategies are weighted more towards hospice, with the goal of co-locating their two […]
New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System recently unveiled its new family caregiving center to improve how patients’ loved ones are recognized and supported in their roles. The health system announced the opening of its Steven S. Elbaum Family Center for Caregiving in late May. The journey to the facility’s launch has been more than […]
Employees at the University of Vermont Health Network’s (UVM) home health and hospice segment have voted to unionize. A majority of the organization’s 85 hospice staff voted to formalize a union agreement following six months of organization. The unionized employees includes nurses, social workers, licensed nursing assistants, chaplains, bereavement coordinators, volunteer coordinators and administrative staff, […]
Hospice providers are facing an uphill battle when it comes to communicating quality as scammers step into the industry, leading to new misconceptions about their services. Fraudulent activity in the hospice space has exacerbated common misconceptions about end-of-life care, according to Beth Klint, executive director at Goodwin Hospice, which is part of Goodwin Living. Hospices […]
Oregon-based Willamette Vital Health has completed its affiliation with Chapter Health System. Willamette now becomes part of Chapters Health West, an extension of Florida-based Chapters’ footprint into Nevada, California and Oregon. Chapters Health West came into being with the affiliation of four hospices with Chapters, including Nathan Adelson, California-based Hospice of Santa Cruz County and […]
Conflicting viewpoints about potential changes to the hospice aggregate cap have increasingly come to the forefront in recent years. While the cap for hospice payments is aimed at safeguarding against fraudulent activity, its regulatory limitations can challenge legitimate providers’ financial sustainability. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending […]
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHN) still expects to close its purchase of Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) despite ongoing legal challenges. This is according to a document that the insurance and health care services giant prepared in advance of its annual shareholder meeting. The document was inadvertently leaked to the news site STAT on Wednesday. It contained talking […]