Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), attended a public briefing by President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday that addressed the needs of seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the establishment of of a national commission on safety in nursing homes. Banach took the helm […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is allowing hospices to narrow the scope of their required Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs during the pandemic to focus on infection control and adverse events. The agency will also allow any health care professional who is authorized by state law to order a […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has ended its accelerated and advance payment program for all Medicare Part A and Part B providers and suppliers. The agency had implemented the program on March 28 in an effort to counter widespread disruption in the health care space due to the ongoing pandemic. Part […]
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is distributing an additional $20 billion in funds from the CARES Act intended to help health care providers who have been financially clobbered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion of this installment of funds that would go to hospices is unknown. The CARES Act, enacted on […]
While some hospice care definitely requires in-person visits, providers are able to involve telehealth in the full scope of interdisciplinary services during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) indicated in a conference call. The agency clarified that social workers, chaplains, nurses, physicians and members of other disciplines involved in […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has revealed the final payment capitation rates that indicate the amounts the agency will provide to Medicare Advantage plans to offer hospice coverage through the value-based insurance design demonstration project, commonly called the “carve-in.” The carve-in is slated to being Jan. 1, 2021. The announcement did […]
Stakeholders in the hospice space are calling on the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay the inclusion of hospice in the agency’s value-based insurance design model, commonly called the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in, on the grounds that providers will not be able to prepare due to the pressures brought on by […]
Issues related to care planning and hospice aide and homemaker services topped the list of most common deficiencies found during regulatory surveys during 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Nearly 60% of hospices surveyed did not successfully comply with the requirement that hospices must develop an individualized care plan […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently proposed rule for 2021 hospice payment and Conditions of Participation contained no surprises, reflecting a business as usual approach that contrasts with the significant changes that were implemented for the 2020 fiscal year. The agency has called for a 2.6% payment increase for 2021 that […]
A number of hospices nationwide are hitting barriers to effectively disposing of medications following a patient’s death while remaining in compliance with current law and regulation, according to a report released today by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Proper disposal of medications is a critical factor to preventing drug diversion. Drug diversion — the […]