Post-acute company CareCentrix, headquartered in Hartford, Conn., has closed the acquisition of community-based palliative care provider Turn-Key Health for an undisclosed sum. The transaction has it roots in a partnership the two companies pursued early in the second quarter of 2019, when they began to integrate their respective care management and predictive analytic platforms to […]
Health care providers are able to bill Medicare for advance care planning services conducted via audio-only telehealth consultations on a temporary basis during the COVID-19 national emergency. Due to provisions in the CARES Act pandemic stimulus package, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has the authority to expand the use of telehealth […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued new 1135 waivers that temporarily release hospices from having to comply with certain requirements related to training. The agency also indicated that for the time being hospices cannot bill CMS for telehealth visits or include those visits on their cost reports. For the duration […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic strains hospice supply lines, providers are finding innovative ways to obtain essential personal protective equipment (PPE) and prevent risk of infection. Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) found a cost-effective solution to protect staff and patients by employing 3D printers to produce reusable face shields. What began as a hobby […]
Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), attended a public briefing by President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday that addressed the needs of seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the establishment of of a national commission on safety in nursing homes. Banach took the helm […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, hospices are honing their screening procedures to protect staff as they visit patients’ homes. However, many challenges resulting from the pandemic’s pitfalls have placed a strain on providers as they work to protect patients and their workforce. Many hospices geared up their prevention measures at the pandemic’s onset. Hospices bolstered […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is allowing hospices to narrow the scope of their required Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs during the pandemic to focus on infection control and adverse events. The agency will also allow any health care professional who is authorized by state law to order a […]
Even as COVID-19 puts new staffing pressures on hospice and palliative care providers, organizations continue to wrestle with ongoing staffing shortages. While organizations respond to the pandemic, the business of hospice continues — including the need to control routine issues such as staff turnover. The United States has 13.35 hospice and palliative care specialists for […]
Encompass Health’s (NYSE: EHC) hospice business saw positive growth during the first quarter of 2020 despite the company suffering some blows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 acquisition of Alacare Home Health & Hospice for $217 million continues to bear fruit, offering major contributions to the company’s hospice revenue during the first quarter, which […]
Like most health care providers, VITAS Healthcare is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the company appears to be riding out the storm based on its first quarter results. VITAS saw 10.1% increase in hospice revenues from prior year during Q1, with increased days of care as a prime contributor. VITAS is a […]
