Frontpoint Health Acquires High Plains Senior Care Group

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! Frontpoint Health has completed its acquisition of the Texas-based home health and hospice company High Plains Senior Care Group (HPSC). Financial terms were undisclosed. Frontpoint, a portfolio company of Cimarron […]

Program Integrity, Health Equity, Workforce Pressures Top of Mind for Hospice Leaders in 2024

This year has brought both tumultuous challenges and evolving opportunities for hospices that will steer hospice leadership during 2024. Hospice News spoke with a group of industry leaders about the most impactful forces that will shape the space in the coming year. Some themes from last year have carried over as far as their biggest […]

Quality Data, Cost Control: Hospices’ ‘True North’ in Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage plans are connecting the dots between quality scores and care delivery costs. When choosing a hospice to work with, payers in the Medicare Advantage (MA) realm zero in on providers’ quality scores and its patient population growth potential, according to Frontpoint Healthcare CEO Brent Korte. Consequently, those are key data pieces for hospices […]

How Value-Based Care Could Change a Hospice Organization’s Culture

A transition to value-based reimbursement would fundamentally change the traditional hospice business model. It could also wield a powerful influence on an organization’s culture. Hospices are inching ever closer to the value-based arena. To date, much of this has centered around diversified programs like palliative care, PACE and other services. However, the ongoing value-based insurance […]

2024 Final Rule May Signal Changes in CMS’ Approach to Hospice Quality

Both innovative opportunities and cost challenges underly quality and health equity components of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently finalized hospice payment rule. The final rule included some key updates — and raised important questions — in the agency’s planned changes to quality measures and data collection, including those related to […]

Value-Based Care Experience Gives Legacy Hospice Operators a Leg Up on Competition

Payers and private equity investors are among the new entrants stepping deeper into the hospice space. This trend has heated up competition and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, while posing opportunities for strategic growth in an evolving value-based landscape. The hospice industry has seen a swath of new entrants amid record-level transaction volume and soaring […]

Palliative Care’s Evolving Presence in VBID

Palliative care lacks a standardized definition within current value-based reimbursement systems, making it difficult to determine the full scope of services for seriously ill patients. Palliative care services are intended to address physical, psychosocial, social and spiritual needs of seriously ill individuals. However, the full breadth of interdisciplinary services involved in palliative care has yet […]

Value-Based Care: What Hospices Can Learn from Home Health Companies

When it comes to value-based payment models, home health has a head start on hospice. But those providers’ experiences can lend some insights into how hospices can prepare themselves. Hospices are only now taking their first steps into value-based reimbursement. To date, much of this has centered around diversified programs like palliative care, PACE and […]

PE Firms Cimarron, Tacoma Holdings Recapitalize Frontpoint Health

The private equity firms Cimarron Healthcare Capital and Tacoma Holdings have recapitalized the home-based care provider Frontpoint Health. Financal terms were undisclosed. Frontpoint provides home health, hospice, palliative and personal care with a focus on Medicare Advantage enrollees in Texas markets. The investors tapped former Evergreen Health executive Brent Korte to become CEO of the […]