The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled its online Care Compare tool that redesigns the agency’s eight quality reporting sites into a single resource, including Hospice Compare. CMS “Compare” websites are intended to aid Medicare beneficiaries in choosing a health care provider based on publicly reported quality data, among other information. […]
Hospice staff visiting patients in nursing homes must undergo testing for COVID-19 at a frequency determined by the prevalence of the virus in their location. This is required under an interim final rule from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). While the final rule pertains specifically to nursing homes, it applies to […]
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to allocate $96 billion for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), with provisions that could offer support to hospice and home care providers as well as patients and family caregivers. The House bill, which also contains funding for the departments of Education and Labor, will […]
As hospices wade into the complexities of value-based reimbursement models in 2021, they must learn to understand the relationship between payment and risk within programs like Medicare Advantage. Starting in 2021, providers will have the option to participate in a demonstration project testing the inclusion of hospice in the value-based insurance design model, commonly called […]
MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care in New York settled a whistleblower case against a former employee under the civil False Claims Act for $5.225 million. The hospice acknowledged resolution of the private citizen action filing in a statement shared with Hospice News. “The allegation was that medical record documentation for hospice levels of care for […]
The direct contracting component of the Primary Cares Initiative will allow eligible hospice patients to receive curative treatment while also receiving hospice care. The direct contracting options include three voluntary payment models that are designed to help the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and health care providers reduce the cost of care […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should revamp its use of the hospital wage index to determine payments for health care providers, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. The agency uses the index among other information to calculate hospice […]
The final rule governing hospice payment from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services adopted a new method for defining different regions as rural or urban. This move could impact geographic adjustments to per diem amounts leading to payment reductions for some providers. Effective at the start of the Fiscal Year in October, CMS […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated hospices’ ability to provide respite care. Limited access to nursing homes, fears of spreading the virus and rising demand are throwing wrenches into providers’ respite programs. Congress is currently considering legislation that during any federally declared national emergency would increase the maximum length of stay for hospice respite care to […]
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) have introduced new legislation that would allow hospice patients to receive respite care in their homes during a national emergency, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would also extend the allowable length of stay to 15 days, up from the current limit of […]
