National and regional hospice chains seem unfazed by proposed Medicare payment rebasing for fiscal year 2020—confident that the updates will not adversely affect their businesses—though smaller organizations may take a more significant hit. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in late April released its annual proposed rule that outlines the agency’s regulatory […]
Cornerstone Healthcare Inc., a subsidiary of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ: ENSG), as of May 1 acquired the assets of Texas-based Resolutions Hospice for an undisclosed amount. Cornerstone subsidiaries now operate 26 hospice operations, 25 home health operations, and nine other home care operations across 12 states. Prior to this transaction Resolutions Hospice was a family-owned […]
Rising hospice admission numbers led Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) to robust earnings in the first quarter of 2019. The rise in admissions includes both same-store and those associated with acquisitions. Same-store hospice admissions for Q1 2019 rose 5% to 9,711 patients, up from 6,933 in the first quarter of 2018. Average daily […]
The nation’s 420,000 trained hospice volunteers generate more than $469 million in annual savings for hospice providers while administering and supporting essential services for patients, according to the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). Hospice volunteers provide more than 19 million hours of service annually. The estimated financial value of a hospice volunteer’s time […]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working to expand hospice and palliative care utilization among veterans, both in its own facilities and through collaborations with private health care providers. Historically, hospice utilization among veterans has been lower than that of the general population. In 2000, 21.6 percent of all Medicare decedents enrolled in […]
Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) has acquired all the assets of Tulsa, Okla.-based RoseRock Healthcare, a provider of specialized hospice care to approximately 220 patients daily in northeastern Oklahoma, for an undisclosed sum. “Whether we’re delivering care at a patient’s bedside, supporting our clinical team or educating the community on the hospice benefit, hospice isn’t just […]
Despite spending over $340 million on hospice acquisitions in 2018, Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) says it plans to continue investing heavily even as multiples continue to be at record levels. “Capital deployment on hospice acquisitions remains our first priority,” CEO Paul Kussarow said Thursday in a conference call. Amedisys in 2018 became the third largest […]