Some legal and technology experts have grown increasingly concerned by a potential lack of human oversight in artificial intelligence-assisted hospice regulatory enforcement. The AI-driven efforts to crackdown on fraudulent activity could bring significant impacts for legitimate providers, including risk of revocation and closure. In the first of a two-part series, Hospice News sits down with […]
U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) remain committed to passing the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA). If enacted, PCHETA would provide support for hospice and palliative care training programs for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and chaplains. The legislation would also expand continuing education and career-development opportunities, as […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun the process of revising the hospice Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for the first time in 20 years. The agency’s Center for Clinical Standards & Quality (CCSQ), Clinical Standards Group (CGS), announced the project in late September. On Thursday, LeadingAge, an advocacy group of nonprofit […]
Hospices’ compliance and legal risks could be rising alongside their increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, according to law experts. More providers are leaning into AI-enabled tools to improve quality, compliance and clinical documentation, according to Bryan Nowicki, partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell. Hospice organizations that are not currently considering or using […]
As the midterm elections approach, hospices have unfinished business in the halls of Congress. Providers have identified several high priority pieces of legislation they would like to see passed before this Congress ends in December, according to healthcare leaders attending the National Alliance for Care at Home’s Advocacy Week on Capitol Hill. Most of these […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should follow the six-month moratoria on hospice and home health enrollment in Medicare with more pinpointed efforts to root out fraud, according to the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). CMS implemented the moratoria in May. At the time, NPHI voiced support for the moratoria. The […]
LeadingAge has urged the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to end the temporary hospice and home health moratoria in advance of the November expiration date. The association of nonprofit aging service providers recently submitted the request in a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. The six-month national moratoria on new home […]
Hospices lack clarity around how regulators are using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve program integrity. Hospices need to understand the technology trends that are quickly taking shape in regulation, according to Angelo Spinola, home health, home care and hospice chair at the law firm Polsinelli. For instance, federal agencies like the FBI, U.S. Centers for […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) six-month moratoria on home health and hospice Medicare enrollment are adversely affecting access to care, as well as providers’ financial positions. This is according to the National Alliance for Care at Home, which penned a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz containing comments on the […]
The 2027 hospice payment rates likely will change based on a technical error by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The agency made a mistake that affected the Fiscal Year 2027 hospice wage index and has recalculated those numbers. CMS is in the process of developing a correction notice to update the […]
