Hospice providers nationwide are seeking and developing strategies for engaging with patients earlier in the course of their illness, as many patients come into hospice too late in the course of their disease to reap the full benefit of those services. One such strategy is to encourage early conversations about death, dying and associated health […]
Mansfield, Texas-based home health provider AngMar Medical Holdings Inc., has entered the hospice space with the acquisition of its first agency, located in Wichita, Kan. The location will operate under AngMar’s new brand, Angels Care Hospice. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The name of the acquired hospice in Wichita is confidential per […]
Private equity firm Towerbrook Capital Partners and health system Ascension Health have agreed to purchase the Nashville-based hospice provider Compassus at a valuation of $1 billion, with multiples of EBITDA in the low teens, PEHub.com reported. The two companies will split ownership of Compassus down the middle, each holding an equal stake, according to PEHub.com. […]
The Medicare Hospice Benefit is aging along with the patients it is designed to serve. Nearly 40 years since its inception, it may be time to re-examine aspects of the program in light of the ways that patient populations and the larger health care system have changed. The hospice benefit was established as a demonstration […]
Keith Myers co-founded LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) in 1994 and has served as its chairman and CEO ever since. Today, the company’s platform, including all service lines, reaches 60% of the U.S. population aged 65 and older, LHC Group reported in an August earnings call. One of the largest hospice and home health providers in […]
To ensure growth of palliative care availability and utilization, the health care system must help improve patients’ understanding of what palliative care actually is. Key to achieving this is a change of perspective on how clinicians, patients and families perceive treatment of serious illness, according to Adil Akhtar, M.D., an oncologist for the physician practice […]
The hospice mergers & acquisitions market continues to be robust. Fourteen hospice transactions took place during the second quarter of 2019, up from eight hospice-related acquisitions during the first quarter, according to a report from M&A advisory firm Mertz-Taggart. The hospice merger and acquisitions market has been thriving in recent years, with several top providers […]
A 9.6% percent increase in admissions drove strong second quarter earnings results for LHC Group’s (NASDAQ: LHCG) hospice segment. The segment saw the highest rate of admissions growth among the company’s service lines during the second quarter, exceeding the home health segment’s 9.1% rise. LHC Group currently operates 104 hospice locations nationwide, representing 10.2% of […]
LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LHCG) along with joint venture partner Capital Region Medical Center (CRMC) have completed an acquisition of a Mexico, Mo.-based hospice agency from nonprofit health system SSM Health. The purchase also included two home health agencies, also based in Missouri communities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The three acquired […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rebased payment rates for the four levels of hospice care in a final rule for Fiscal Year 2020. Among other provisions the rule includes a new requirement that hospices provide an addendum to election statements that would detail care, treatment and services the patient would […]