3 Key Hospice Technology Trends

Hospices see improved quality and operational efficiency as their biggest return on technology investments in three key areas. But several unknowns and challenges exist in the journey to deeper technology integration. Today’s hospice leaders need a firm understanding of the varying and rapidly changing advances in technology that can impact their business lines and ability […]

Hospices Face ‘Interesting Unknowns’ in Wake of Presidential Election

Hospices are facing a sea of uncertainties in the wake of Wednesday’s presidential election results. Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States. The former president received the majority of popular and electoral votes over Vice President Kamala Harris. Hospice and home health providers will need to work with policymakers […]

Leveraging Sales in Hospice Payment Cap Management

Errors or other inconsistencies with the payment cap can have significant consequences for providers, and sales and marketing staff can help hospices achieve a healthy balance. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending and foster greater access to care among patients. For Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. Centers […]

Managing the Hospice Payment Cap by Balancing Length of Stay

Careful management of the hospice aggregate cap is key to providers’ sustainability as regulatory scrutiny continues to heat up. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending and foster greater access to care among patients. For Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set the […]

Hospices Call on Congress to Support Rural Hospices, Patients

Hospice providers, industry groups and other stakeholders recently penned a letter urging Congress to improve payment infrastructures that would increase access to end-of-life care among rural populations. The letter highlighted the unique challenges that rural and frontier hospice and palliative care providers face, and how strengthened financial support could lead to sustainable access and better […]

HSPN ELEVATE: Hospice Clinical Innovation Trends

This article is sponsored by Axxess. This article is based on a Hospice News discussion with Faith Protsman, regional medical director at VITAS Healthcare, Raianne Melton, senior clinical manager of professional service at Axxess, and Cheryl Hamilton Fried, president & CEO at Blue Ridge Hospice. This discussion took place on September 7, 2023 during the […]

2 Innovative Drivers ‘Reimagining’ Hospice Care

Technology and service diversification are two levers driving innovation in an evolving hospice landscape. Virtual care delivery processes are playing a key role in hospices’ ability to support both patients and staff as end-of-life care expands further upstream. The aging population has a variety of unmet medical and nonmedical needs in which hospices are well-suited […]

How Emerging Hospice Regulations Could Impact Providers

Increased hospice oversight aimed at curbing fraud in the industry could come with a mixed bag of financial and operational impacts for providers. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has honed in on hospice program integrity, rolling out a swath of new measures to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in the space. […]

Where Hospice Compliance Meets Revenue Cycle Management

As regulatory agencies crack down on hospice spending, providers can benefit from recognizing the links between revenue cycle management and compliance. Regulatory activity is increasing on multiple fronts. For example, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has launched a nationwide audit of general inpatient hospice services […]

CMS Pilot to Conduct Medical Reviews of Hospice Stays Longer than 90 Days

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is conducting a small pilot program for post-payment reviews of hospice stays that exceed 90 days. The agency has contracted with Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC as its Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC). Noridian will perform the reviews and submit findings to CMS. “CMS internal data has […]