In a new final rule, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will permit physician assistants to send medication orders to hospices. Previously, only orders from physicians or nurse practitioners were acceptable. The rule becomes effective Jan. 1., 2020. Hospices can accept the orders from physician assistants as long as the PA is […]
A federal court has convicted the CEO, the medical director, and the owner of San Antonio-based hospice and home health care provider Merida Health Group of fraud for filing $154 million in false hospice claims for patients who were not expected to die within six months. A jury found owner Rodney Mesquias of San Antonio, […]
U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) have introduced a new bill, the Hospice Care Improvement Act, in response to the July reports on hospice quality from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If enacted, the legislation would implement new rules for oversight […]
Stakeholders in the hospice space must work with policymakers to remove barriers that complicate patients’ access to care, according to Sen. Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.) — including the requirement for a six-month terminal prognosis. Rosen made the comments at the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization Interdisciplinary Conference in Orlando, Fla. “I know all too well […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled its process for identifying and on-boarding patients who are eligible for coverage under the Seriously Ill Population (SIP) payment model, part of the Primary Care First initiative. However, hospice organizations continue to seek additional answers about the workings of the model. CMS in April […]
A bipartisan group of congressional legislators have introduced corresponding bills in the House and the Senate that would allow hospice physicians to re-certify patients via telehealth systems, among other provisions. Current Medicare Conditions of Participation require a hospice physician to meet with a patient face-to-face as part of the recertification process that initiates after the […]
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), according to the office of Rep. Eliot Engels (D-N.Y.). The bill, which Engels introduced in January, had 294 bipartisan cosponsors. If enacted, PCHETA would establish fellowship programs within new palliative care and hospice education centers to provide short-term, […]
Though the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is now accepting applications to participate in the agency’s new Primary Care First payment models, the agency has delayed the program’s launch to 2021, as opposed to the original Jan. 1, 2020 date. CMS moved the start date to allow stakeholders more time to consider participation, […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened the online application period for the Primary Care First payment models. The agency announced the program in April and will implement the models in phases beginning in January 2021, initially in 26 regions throughout the United States. Hospices and palliative care organizations are eligible […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is planning to implement a payment model within its Primary Cares Initiative that would address the needs of patients associated with the highest health care costs. Few details about the model are available as the agency has not yet publicly announced the program. The program would […]