Hospices Seeking Diversified Assets in Robust M&A Market

With the hospice mergers and acquisitions market showing no sign of slowing down, providers with high performance on quality measures, scale and size are anticipated to attract investors’ eyes. Even as strategic, private equity and non-traditional buyers continue to snap up hospices, those providers are themselves increasingly investing in more diversified assets, such as home […]

Hospice Satilla Unveils New Palliative Care Service

Georgia-based Hospice Satilla, an affiliate of Alivia Care, has launched a palliative care program in partnership with the hospital Memorial Satilla Health. Branded as Satilla Palliative Care, the service is designed to support people living with serious illnesses such as dementia, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and congestive heart failure. Hospices provide about 50% […]

Community Hospice Expands Pediatric Palliative Care Program

Community Hospice & Palliative Care, an affiliate of Alivia Care, is expanding its pediatric hospice and palliative care program, Community PedsCare, into the north-central region of Florida. Community PedsCare first launched in 2000 in the northeastern portion of the state, serving seriously ill patients from prenatal to age 21.  The majority of hospice patients are seniors […]

Hospices Engage with Lawmakers to Shape Health Care Policy

As the nation’s health care costs soar, providers, payers and policymakers are beginning to recognize the hospice and palliative care value proposition, and their potential to reduce the need for high-acuity services. While a boon to many patients, the growing prevalence for home-based care has drawn the eyes of regulators seeking to ensure quality and […]

Alivia Care Enters Home Health Market with Better Life Acquisition

Alivia Care has entered the home health space with the acquisition of Better Life Home Health in Summerfield, Fla., for an undisclosed sum. Better Life operates in 16 counties in Florida and Georgia.  Post-acquisition Alivia Care’s business lines will include home health, hospice, palliative care, and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The […]

Alivia’s Ponder-Stansel: Hospice Can’t Afford to Ignore the Carve-In

The launch of the value-based insurance design demonstration (VBID) on Jan. 1 has opened up a new payment world to hospices. In addition to the opportunities they present, evolving payment models have brought a plethora of billing and operational challenges. In preparation, hospices have diversified their services, ramped up recruitment and retention efforts, and adapted […]

Technology Aids Hospices With Value-Based Advance Care Planning Compliance

Hospices have contended with two agents of industry-wide change at the start of 2021: access to value-based payment models and a global pandemic. As hospices sought ways to balance the human touch with technology, they’ve refocused efforts around advance care planning, a key element of those value-based models. Those services are one more area in […]

Hospices Ramp Up Advance Care Planning Through Value-Based Payment Models

More hospices are expanding their advance care planning services as they ramp up participation in value-based payment programs such as Medicare Advantage, direct contracting and participation in Accountable Care Organizations. Several value-based models incorporate advance care planning, which is associated with reductions in the total cost of care and improvements in overall hospice utilization rates. […]

Hospice Satilla Unveils Bereavement Center

Georgia-based Hospice Satilla has opened a new bereavement center in Waycross in its home state. The James Carl Jones, Jr. Family Center is named for a local business leader and philanthropist. The new 1,840-square-foot facility features a large conference and education room, a well as private counseling space. Through the center, Hospice Satilla will provide […]

Hospice Satilla Joins Forces with Alivia Care

Alivia Care has gained a new affiliate in George-based Hospice Satilla. The agreement continues an industry-wide trend of smaller providers joining forces to build scale in anticipation of value-based payment models. As hospices move closer to value-based payment structures like Medicare Advantage, scale will become increasingly important. Many private payers prefer to work with providers […]