Six republican U.S. House of Representatives congressmen have penned a letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) urging stronger oversight amid rising fraud concerns in California. The letter was inked on Tuesday by Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Dr. John Joyce (R-Pa.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Jason Smith […]
Some stakeholders in the hospice space are seeking reforms to the hospice wage index. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adjusts daily hospice payments for each level of care to account for differences in wage rates among markets. Each level of care has a labor share and a non-labor share; those amounts […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are ramping up investigations into hospice fraud amid rising program integrity concerns in the space. Unscrupulous operators have increasingly targeted vulnerable aging populations, said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz during a recent press conference. The trend has resulted in […]
Hospices must pay close attention to regulatory compliance when transitioning hospital-bound patients to the General Inpatient (GIP) level of care. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has indicated that a GIP stay is appropriate when patients require pain control or chronic symptom management that cannot be delivered in any other setting. GIP […]
Opposition to a Medicare Advantage hospice “carve-in” remains strong in the field, though some say the lack of one creates a serious gap in the MA program. Medicare Advantage enrollment continues to grow. As of 2025, 54% of Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage, about 31.4 million people, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. […]
Hospice physicians may continue to prescribe opioid medications via telehealth through Dec. 31. The COVID-era telehealth waiver allowing this practice was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued an extension shortly before the flexibilities were […]
Proposed changes to federal student loan eligibility would hamper health care providers’ ability to combat widespread staff shortages, including hospices, according to the National Partnership for Healthcare an Hospice Innovation (NPHI). The U.S. Department of Education in November announced plans to issue a proposed rule that would, among other changes, reclassify post-baccalaureate nursing degrees as […]
The California-based hospice provider Blize Healthcare has filed for bankruptcy. The company filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, according to court documents. The case is a voluntary, non-individual Chapter 11 petition for a health care company. Blize Healthcare offers home health care, hospice care and private duty home care […]
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has vetoed legislation that would have effectively banned new for-profit hospices in the state. The New York State Assembly passed the bill earlier this month and submitted it to the governor’s office. It would have prohibited the establishment of for-profit hospices in New York state and forbid current for-profit […]
A federal judge has given final approval to the settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) that allowed the transaction between the two companies to close. The U.S. District Court in Maryland entered the final judgment proposed by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the attorneys general of several […]
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