U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 59 bipartisan co-sponsors have reintroduced legislation that would expand Medicare coverage of telehealth and make permanent flexibilities implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency. If enacted, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act would remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and […]
Years after it was first introduced, hospice leaders are calling on Congress to move forward legislation that would bolster their dwindling workforce. The most significant bill in recent years is the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA), which has come before Congress time and again but has not yet been passed. The bill’s […]
Patient data protection and telehealth compliance are key pieces for hospices to bear in mind when navigating technology partnerships in a post-pandemic regulatory landscape. Hospices are facing regulatory concerns since the COVID-19 public health emergency ended (PHE) on May 11 that have centered around telehealth. Some telehealth flexibilities temporarily instituted during the PHE will linger […]
The Pennant Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired Idaho-based Bluebird Home Health, Bluebird Hospice and Bluebird Home Care for an undisclosed sum. The transaction follows Pennant’s May acquisition of the assets of Benefit Home Healthcare and Benefit By Your Side, a Colorado-based company that offers home health care, private duty and community health services. Financial […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) is seeking answers about hospice patients’ access to certain high-cost services. CMS included a series of requests for information (RFIs) in its proposed 2024 hospice payment rule. Among them were questions about patients’ utilization of complex care services including blood transfusions, chemotherapy, radiation or dialysis. The […]
The mission and function of the Medicare program have evolved over time, and the agency that runs it also may need to adapt to the new ways that health care organizations are doing business, according to SCAN Group CEO Dr. Sachin Jain. Jain currently leads a $4.3 billion nonprofit Medicare Advantage (MA) organization that covers […]
After more than a decade working in hospice leadership, Alli Collins came across something she had never seen before — a financially viable, all-volunteer provider that is not Medicare-certified. Today, she is the executive director of the program, Idaho-based Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley, which serves an average of 55 patients […]
A growing number of patients with various dementia-related conditions will need end-of-life care in coming years. Hospices preparing for rising demand are facing compliance challenges, as these patients often require longer hospice stays. Patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurological degenerative disorders have health trajectories that are difficult to project, especially as they approach the end […]
The nation’s total health care spend is expected to swell by 5.4% annually between 2022 and 2031, reaching $7.1 trillion. Meanwhile, Medicare hospice spending is expected to more than double by 2032. These data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary also project that health care expenditures will […]
Medication costs are among hospice providers’ biggest expenses, and some are asking policymakers to take action on prices. High prices on drugs, as well as shortages, are problems that permeate the entire health care system. While recent industry-wide data are scarce on drug costs for hospice patients, providers often identify these as their second-highest expense, […]
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