The number of cosponsors for the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act has reached the 290 the bill needs to come to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. A second bill, the Rural Access to Hospice Act, will likely be folded into a larger yet-to-be-determined piece of legislation. If enacted, PCHETA […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a final rule on hospital discharge planning that underscores the need for hospices to leverage their publicly reported quality metrics as a competitive advantage. The new rule requires hospitals to inform patients about their choices related to post-acute care providers including those organizations’ performance […]
The Medicare Hospice Benefit is aging along with the patients it is designed to serve. Nearly 40 years since its inception, it may be time to re-examine aspects of the program in light of the ways that patient populations and the larger health care system have changed. The hospice benefit was established as a demonstration […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is experimenting with the concept of including hospice in value-based payment models, as evidenced by the forthcoming Medicare Advantage carve-in, the Medicare Care Choices model and the Primary Care First initiative. While the agency has no immediate plans to transform the Medicare Hospice Benefit’s per diem […]
As the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) prepares to launch the Primary Care First Seriously Ill Population payment model in 2020, the agency should consider mining data from the home health care population to identify eligible patients rather than claims data, a group of physicians argue in a recent editorial in Health […]
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals partially affirmed a decision in favor of Arkansas-based hospice provider AseraCare in False Claims Act (FCA) case that has widespread implications for the hospice industry. The appellate court agreed with the Northern District of Alabama that a mere difference of physician’s opinions on a terminal patient’s prognosis does not […]
Federal watchdogs recently called out the hospice industry on medication billing practices on the grounds that Medicare was paying twice for some drugs, but many hospices feel they lack clear direction as to what should be covered as they contend with the inherent complexity of diagnostic processes. Hospices nationwide billed Medicare Part D a combined […]
Though hospices remain in the dark about the inner workings of the forthcoming Medicare Advantage carve-in, some are using their knowledge and experience in working with payers to take the first steps toward implementation. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this year announced that it would test coverage of hospice care […]
A bi-partisan bill before the Wisconsin Legislature would set up a Palliative Care Council within the state’s Department of Health Services, as well as establish a public education program on palliative care. If the bill is enacted, Wisconsin will join a growing list of states in establishing laws to promote palliative care as legislators and […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) needs to do more to make sure taxpayer dollars aren’t being wasted when it comes to paying for hospice patients’ drugs, a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found. As part of an ongoing audit […]
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