Telehealth policies and program integrity concerns represent two of the leading regulatory issues on hospices’ radar this year. Regulatory changes and increasing oversight were the second-most cited concerns among nearly a quarter (21%) of 112 hospice professionals who participated in this year’s Outlook Survey by Hospice News and Homecare Homebase. Challenges around staffing and improved […]
A proposed rule by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) could impede timely access to medications for hospice and palliative care patients, according to members of the hospice community. The DEA proposed a rule in the final days of the Biden administration that could change the game for prescribing controlled substances via telehealth, including some […]
Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), during a confirmation hearing on Friday pledged to address the needs of chronically ill patients with the twin goals of reducing costs and improving outcomes. Oz rose to fame in the early 2000s as a talk show host […]
A Texas-based physician recently entered a settlement to pay nearly half a million dollars for their alleged involvement in a hospice kickback scheme that transpired roughly four years ago. Dr. John Patterson agreed to pay $486,626 to resolve allegations of kickback payments received from Nursemind Home Care. Patterson is accused of certifying patients for hospice […]
The federal government must invest further in home-based care, Empath Health CEO Jonathan Fleece told lawmakers at a hearing with the U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Health Subcommittee. Fleece was among several post-acute care leaders who appeared at the hearing, representing home health, hospice, skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation hospitals and other stakeholders. In […]
Nevada lawmakers have introduced a bill to curb hospice fraud in that state. Nevada is among the four hotbed states seeing escalating program integrity issues in recent years, joined by Arizona, California and Texas. Sponsored by Assemblymember Rebecca Edgeworth (R-Las Vegas, District 35), the newly proposed bill introduced a number of measures that could widen […]
Stymied Medicaid reimbursement for nursing home room and board could threaten access to care for hospice patients in California and possibly other states. The issue centers around patients in nursing homes who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. When caring for patients in nursing homes, hospices typically pay for their room and board with […]
Federal lawmakers have introduced legislation designed to extend a key telehealth flexibility beyond a March 31 termination date. Reps. Carol Miller (R-West Virginia) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) have reintroduced the Hospice Recertification Flexibility Act. If enacted, the bill would allow hospices to conduct face-to-face recertification visits via telehealth. “As patients enter into hospice care, it’s […]
Saad Enterprises Inc., doing business as Saad Healthcare, has agreed to pay $3 million to settle alleged False Claims Act violations. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability, according to the U.S. Justice Department. The hospice was accused of knowingly submitting Medicare claims for patients […]
In the final days of the Biden administration the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed a rule that could change the game for prescribing controlled substances via telehealth, including some common hospice medications. If finalized, this proposed rule would require prescribers to register with the DEA before they are allowed to prescribe schedule II-V controlled […]
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