Navigating Palliative Care Models in ACO Partnerships

Partnerships between health care providers and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) can help to create effective, value-based palliative care models for patients, but navigating the development of those relationships requires communication and a true commitment to collaboration. These opportunities extend across both the inpatient and community-based settings, with a mind toward improving quality and improving patients’ […]

Using a Hospice Data ‘Toolbox’ to Tune Up Health Equity

Hospice providers have leveraged data in various ways to both identify and address the biggest barriers to access and unmet needs among underserved terminally ill patient populations. Some avenues may be more fruitful than others. Hospices need careful consideration when implementing more equitable patient data collection methodologies that lead to impactful change, according to Brittany […]

2024’s Palliative Care Payment Trends Provide ‘Plethora of Data’ for Future Policymaking

The varied routes of palliative care payment trends taking shape in today’s reimbursement landscape could have significant effects on the future outlook of sustainability and access to these services. Palliative care providers need a strong understanding around the insights gained from the current mix of payment models evolving in their space, according to Brynn Bowman, […]

2 States Lead the Pack on Palliative Care Access, Many Lag Behind

Two states — Massachusetts and Oregon — rise above the rest when it comes to access to palliative care. This is according to the new rankings from the Center to Advance Palliative Care, America’s Readiness to Meet the Needs of People with Serious Illness Scorecard. The scorecard ranks each state’s capacity to deliver high-quality care […]

Hospice of the Chesapeake Launches New Dementia Program Amid ‘Urgent, Significant’ Need

Hospice of the Chesapeake has unfurled a new dementia care program aimed at providing improved emotional, educational and practical support for patients and their caregivers as their conditions progress. Demographic trends were among the key factors that drove the program forward, said Monica Escalante, chief strategy and information officer at Hospice of the Chesapeake. The […]

American Heart Association Affirms Importance of Palliative Care in Treating Cardiac Conditions

Multidisciplinary palliative care offers clear benefits to patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly when it comes to medication management and goals-of-care conversations. Palliative care with effective medication management, shared decision making and symptom management can help improve quality of life for heart disease patients, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) — […]

Keys to Negotiating ACO Palliative Care Contracts

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are key for scaling palliative care through value-based models. Hospices and palliative care providers can collaborate with ACOs by becoming members of those organizations themselves, or by contracting with them through a preferred provider network. These arrangements allow for the negotiation of mutually beneficial terms that are tailored to the needs […]

Palliative Care’s Value-Based Future

Many believe that the fee-for-service model does not sufficiently support a robust palliative care program, meaning that providers must turn to value-based systems for sustainable reimbursement. But primarily, Medicare still reimburses for palliative care through fee-for-service payment programs that cover physician and licensed independent practitioner services. That model does not sufficiently cover the full range […]

How Palliative Care Drives Change in the Health Care System

Palliative care and its core principles may be driving incremental change in the larger health care system. Some of this is likely due to necessity as the nation strains to manage the extensive needs and expensive costs associated with the care of the growing chronically ill senior population. Currently, more than 10,000 individuals become Medicare-eligible […]