3 Strategies for Hospice GIP Compliance

Utilization of the general inpatient level of care (GIP) is frequently the subject of audits by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), and avoiding or responding to that scrutiny requires strict compliance to a complex web of rules. Audits are becoming more frequent in the hospice space, and GIP is an increasing focus, including ​for the most […]

Compliance Strategies for Forthcoming Hospice HOPE Tool

Hospices will have a learning curve when it comes to implementing the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation Tool (HOPE) tool. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently developing quality measures that will be included in the HOPE tool, which will replace the current Hospice Item Set (HIS). After years of development, […]

Hospice Groups, AOs Speak Out on Proposed Accreditor Oversight Rule

Some accreditation organizations (AOs) have balked at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule designed to strengthen oversight of those institutions. CMS in February released a proposed rule that would introduce a number of provisions aimed at avoiding conflicts of interest and establishing more consistent standards, processes and definitions among accreditation […]

Frontline Hospice Staff Need to Understand New CMS Survey Methods

In case you missed it, Hospice News has launched a new specialty publication for palliative care professionals. You can subscribe to Palliative Care News here: Subscribe today! Ensuring staff are educated around revisions to hospice survey processes will be key to navigating ongoing regulatory changes in the industry. Revisions to hospice surveys have been in the pipeline […]

Hospice Leaders to Lawmakers: Strengthen CMS Oversight of Accreditors

Individuals in several states have been securing hospice licenses only to turn them around in a quick sale. A number of these hospices are accredited, prompting calls for greater oversight of organizations with deeming authority. A surge of newly licensed hospices has swelled in California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada. Many of these have been accused […]

How Hospice Labor Pressures Can Impact Regulatory Compliance

Industry-wide staffing woes are bleeding into hospices’ compliance programs. Many hospices are struggling not only operationally, but also financially to comply with regulations, according to Norbert Hudak, partner at in90Group, a Los Angeles-based business marketing and strategy development company. The company recently polled 100 home health and hospice executives on their biggest quality and compliance […]

Voices: ​​Dr. Khai Nguyen, National Medical Director, Geriatrician, CHAP

This article is sponsored by CHAP. In this Voices interview, Hospice News sits down with Dr. Khai Nguyen, National Medical Director, Geriatrician for CHAP, to talk about the age-friendly care movement. He highlights the foundational 4Ms framework of Age-Friendly Care and explains how providers can utilize it to uphold and deliver higher standards of care […]

CHAP Designing ‘Age-Friendly’ Certification for Hospice, Home Health Providers

Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) is developing a certification program designed to apply the Age-Friendly Health Systems “4Ms” framework into the home health and hospice settings. Providers that have adopted this approach have seen “dramatic improvement” in patient satisfaction, clinician satisfaction and retention, improved revenue growth and cost savings, as well as higher rates of […]

Quality Data, Transparency Becoming More Critical to Hospice Compliance Under New Rules

Quality is a paramount concern as hospice regulation and payment continue to evolve. Quality and transparency will be critical not only to curbing regulatory scrutiny, but also to a hospice’s bottom line. New quality measures were among the major provisions included in the final rule for hospice payments in Fiscal Year 2022. The rule implemented […]

Accreditors Respond to HOSPICE Act

A proposed House bill, Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort Environments (HOSPICE) Act, could increase accreditors and U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) survey frequency from every three years to every other year for hospices. These provisions — and the public reporting of accreditation survey results — could weigh heavily on both accrediting organizations […]