TRICARE, the U.S. military’s health insurance program for uniformed service members and their families, will now pay for medical treatment concurrently with hospice care for pediatric patients with terminal illness. The rule change, made in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018, applies to military dependents who are younger than 21. Before this […]
Leaders in the influential Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives have called for stronger supervision of hospice regulatory programs in a letter to Seema Verma, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) signed the letter requesting […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its annual final rule for hospice payments in Fiscal Year 2020, including a payment rebasing that raises rates 2.7% for three higher-acuity levels of care and cuts routine home care by a corresponding 2.7%. With regulatory scrutiny on the rise, some hospice providers are concerned […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rebased payment rates for the four levels of hospice care in a final rule for Fiscal Year 2020. Among other provisions the rule includes a new requirement that hospices provide an addendum to election statements that would detail care, treatment and services the patient would […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has launched a new caucus to focus on legislation and policy that impacts palliative care. The legislators said they expect the Comprehensive Care Caucus to raise awareness of palliative care, promote utilization, improve care coordination, support caregivers and expand access to palliative care services. Founding members of the Comprehensive […]
Hospices are under increasing levels of regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Inspector General’s Office (OIG), particularly in the form of audits, and many hospice leaders are expressing frustration with the associated costs and workload. Hospice News’ Confessions interviews give […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule that would allow physician assistants (PAs) to serve as attending physicians for hospice patients. However, due to current regulatory restrictions the PA may not be an employee or contracted with the hospice. If made final, the rule would allow PAs, acting within their […]
Requirements for electronic health record (EHR) interoperability could preclude some hospices from participating in Medicare’s Primary Care First payment models. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires health care organizations that participate in the model to use certified EHR technology (CEHRT). CEHRT are IT products that comply with criteria established by CMS […]
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D, has signed into law a bill that exempts hospices from opioid prescribing restrictions that the state enacted last year to combat the national addiction and overdose epidemic. Prior to this legislation, the law mandated that prescribers have a “bona fide” prescriber-patient relationship, and that the prescriber obtain reports from the […]
The influential Ways and Means Committee within the U.S. House of Representatives has convened a Rural and Underserved Communities Health Task Force to consider health care delivery challenges in rural areas. The move comes as both chambers of Congress consider versions of legislation to expand hospice in rural locales. The Rural Access to Hospice Act […]