As more hospices engage with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, they may be able to learn from the experiences of some home health providers. Historically, MA has not covered hospice. Now, many operators are contracting with managed care plans for other service lines, such as palliative care, or they may be participating in the hospice component […]
Category: Value-Based Care
A new primary care-focused payment model demonstration could create new partnership opportunities for hospice and palliative care providers. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled the Making Care Primary (MC) model, which will launch in July 2024 in eight states — Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North […]
Compassus and VNS Health have formed a value-based collaboration aimed at improving access, awareness and quality of hospice and palliative care services. The two home-based care organizations are joining forces in a Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model partnership. Through the collaboration, VNS Health and Compassus will help MA health plans to manage […]
Patient data collection is critical in how the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is developing health equity quality measures for hospices in value-based payment. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in 2022 announced a “strategy refresh” that included a renewed focus on health care equity in payment model design. Among […]
Recognition of palliative care’s value has been steadily gaining among stakeholders in the form of improved patient outcomes and cost savings through reduced hospitalizations. But despite the upswing in profile, insurance coverage and payment for palliative services remain difficult to come by. Traditional Medicare only covers physician consults and doesn’t support the full range of […]
When it comes to value-based payment models, home health has a head start on hospice. But those providers’ experiences can lend some insights into how hospices can prepare themselves. Hospices are only now taking their first steps into value-based reimbursement. To date, much of this has centered around diversified programs like palliative care, PACE and […]
Ohio-based palliative care provider Pure Healthcare is collaborating with the nonprofit managed care organization CareSource to implement a new care management model designed to support chronically ill patients. The program is focused on patients who have illnesses such as cancer or cardiovascular or respiratory disease, among others. The initial rollout covers a 12-county region in […]
As the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extends the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in through 2030, providers are concerned about preserving patient choice and the nature of concurrent care. Originally slated to complete in 2024, CMS recently extended the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID). The agency further announced that […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow hospice patients to receive concurrent care through the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in, and will permit health plans to further restrict utilization of out-of-network providers. Originally slated to complete in 2024, CMS recently extended the carve-in, formally known as the hospice component of the value-based […]
Hospices will need to leverage creativity to thrive in a Medicare Advantage reimbursement environment. Often called the Medicare Advantage carve-in, the hospice component of the value-based insurance design (VBID) model is now in its third year. Recently, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended the demo through 2030. Though its ultimate outcome […]