A Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) can deny a hospice claim for a wide range of reasons, but two types of errors stand out that can lead to a rejection. A few causes of denials are widely known. They stem almost entirely from documentation errors or omissions such as a physician’s signature on the certification form […]
Aetna, a subsidiary of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is leveraging a series of new benefits that, coupled with existing palliative care programs and ongoing hospice payment demonstrations, promise to keep patients in their homes and out of facilities. The new benefits are heavily focused on making medications affordable and addressing social determinants of health. Beneficiaries […]
New hospice leaders have indicated that workforce development, efficient technologies and growth in home-based services represent key focus areas for providers during the next few years. Meanwhile, their biggest challenges include regulatory and reimbursement shifts. Hospice News recently sat down with two new hospice executives to discuss some of the biggest opportunities and concerns on […]
Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice has signed a memorandum of understanding to affiliate with Virginia-based Blue Ridge Hospice. The move could signal the start of a new hospice collaborative in the mid-Atlantic region. Combined, the two hospices would care for an average daily census of more than 900 patients in eight Virginia counties and […]
Recent regulatory moves aimed at greater transparency and consistency in the structure of joint venture valuations may impact how hospices approach these partnerships. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently introduced a new rule that will require newly formed joint ventures (JVs) to disclose the net value of each participating asset at the onset of […]
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is leveraging its subsidiary Optum to drive growth in value-based care arrangements, with building out its home-based care capabilities as a high priority. This drive is evidenced by Optum’s pending acquisition of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) and its purchase of home health and hospice provider LHC Group, which closed in February. By […]
Implementation of the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been challenging for both payers and providers, though a recent analysis indicates that it may get easier over time. The U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned the RAND Corp. to conduct the analysis of the program, formally called the hospice component of the value-based […]
Caregivers can be a key to reducing hospice revocations and the associated emergency department costs, according to Benjamin Swig, director of Acadian Health. The trouble is that many hospices lack the staff they need to build relationships with family caregivers further upstream in a patient’s illness trajectory, leaving them with fewer insights around their health […]
Aging LGBTQ+ populations have few options for quality end-of-life care – particularly those in rural areas – and hospices are ramping up efforts to reach them. Access to hospice can be challenging for many seniors in remote or rural regions. Terminally ill seniors in these locales often experience higher levels of loneliness and isolation at […]
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) CEO Bruce Broussard will step down in late 2024, with incoming COO and President Jim Rechtin on deck to succeed him. Rechtin comes to Humana from Envision Healthcare where he is now president and CEO. He transitions to the COO role for the insurance behemoth as of Jan. 8, 2024 and […]
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