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, […]
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is prioritizing hospice as the agency cracks down on health care fraud. Increased reimbursement oversight could be on the horizon, lending to a potential rise in whistleblower cases. DOJ counts hospice claims among the root causes of rising Medicare costs in recent years, according to Lisa Miller, deputy assistant […]
A minority investor in Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) is urging the hospice and home health provider to consider a “full and fair sale process.” The investor – New York-based hedge fund AREX Capital Management, which holds about 4.5% of the shares of Enhabit – brought up the sale idea in a letter sent to the […]
As the recently appointed CFO of The Pennant Group (NASDAQ: PNTG), Lynette Walborn has her sights set on multiple avenues of growth — including expanding the company’s workforce. Walborn came to Pennant from Raising Cane’s Restaurants, LLC, where she was vice president of financial reporting and tax, overseeing acquisitions, accounting systems and equity management. The […]
In New Jersey, a partnership between a health services company and a nursing home is offering a new approach to long-term illness, tailoring palliative care treatment plans to individual patients. Samaritan Health Services Partners, a not-for-profit complex illnesses company, and Laurel Brook Rehab, a 220-bed facility in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, have joined together to […]
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