The High Costs of Limited Hospice Access for Dementia Patients 

Limiting hospice access for dementia patients is likely to increase overall health care costs at the end of life, according to recent research. During the past decade, Medicare beneficiaries with dementia who utilized hospice had lower overall health care costs than those who did not, according to the Health Affairs study. The findings provide a […]

SCAN Group Invests in Guaranteed’s ‘Inclusive’ Hospice Technology Services

Medicare Advantage organization SCAN Group has invested an undisclosed dollar amount in tech-enabled hospice startup Guaranteed. The move comes nearly a year after California-based Guaranteed launched in August 2022, when founder and CEO Jessica McGlory began her own provider company two years after her father passed away. SCAN Group, parent company of SCAN Health Plan, […]

Hospice Providers Empath Health, Trustbridge to Pursue Affiliation

The nonprofit post-acute care providers Empath Health and Trustbridge have signed a memorandum of understanding to begin an affiliation between the two organizations. Discussions of a potential affiliation began about a year ago, according to Empath Health CEO Jonathan Fleece. The organizations had a prior connection through the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care Association, as […]

How 3 Hospice Companies Are Beating the Workforce Shortage

Though most U.S. hospice providers have the same problem — a workforce shortage — many seek to address it using unique solutions. Worsening workforce shortages have been keeping hospice leaders awake at night for several years running. Rising turnover due to the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the crisis, leading some hospice providers to shut down their […]

Amedisys Shareholders Approve Sale to Optum

Shareholders of Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) have voted in favor of the company’s pending acquisition by the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum. Optum in June penned a deal to acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction of $101 per share, or about $3.3 billion. The transaction followed a previous offer to acquire Amedisys by the […]

2 Ways New CMS Rules Could Impact Hospice Providers

Both opportunities and challenges exist for hospice providers as regulators zero in on program integrity. Hospices stand to grow their census by taking on patients left behind by “bad actors” in certain markets. However, some fear that regulators’ responses could put a drain on employee retention and margins. Widespread reports of fraud and abuse in […]

Payers to Hospices: Don’t Wait to Start Working with MA Plans

Over time, Medicare Advantage plans will likely have a greater presence as hospice payers, and now is the time for providers to build relationships those organizations. Originally slated to end in 2024, CMS recently extended the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID) to 2030. Though the demo’s ultimate outcome remains uncertain, many […]

NorthShore–Edward-Elmhurst Health Expands Partnership with Residential Home Health and Hospice

Chicago-based NorthShore–Edward-Elmhurst Health is expanding its partnership with Residential Home Health and Hospice. The partnership between the two companies was established about 15 years ago. But now, Residential Hospice will act as a preferred provider of hospice services at the health system, NorthShore indicated in a press release. NorthShore folded its in-house hospice and community-based […]

How Hospices Can Adapt to a Changing Competitive Landscape

Hospices are operating in a changing competitive environment, and some are rolling with the punches better than others. Several forces are driving the change. One is value-based payment models, coupled with the entry of new types of organizations in the home-based care space and the rise of more educated, health-literate consumers. With these trends stirring […]

SCAN CEO Sachin Jain: Health Care ‘Middlemen’ Contribute to System’s Fragmentation

Health care middlemen are contributing to a fragmented, stitched-together “Frankenstein’s monster” of a system that puts greater distance between patients and those who actually provide the care, according to SCAN Group CEO Dr. Sachin Jain. Even defining the “middlemen” can be a challenge because these organizations are so pervasive and multifaceted. However, these companies often […]