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 […]
Rising regulatory scrutiny around length of stay may be having adverse impacts on health care costs and quality, hospice leaders said in a recent Congressional briefing. Fear of regulatory attention, audits or post-payment reviews related to longer stays could drive some hospice providers to discharge patients who can still benefit from their services, according to […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is giving hospices a 3.1% increase to their per diem payments for 2024, according to a final rule published Friday. That will translate to a $780 million bump to hospice payments next year compared to Fiscal Year 2023, according to CMS. The finalized rule also raises […]
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 […]
A restructuring of the Medicare Hospice Benefit could have impacts on merger and acquisition activity in the industry. Calls for changes to hospice eligibility and length of stay are growing louder among industry stakeholders. A main concern being voiced to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is that the current six-month prognosis […]
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 […]
Data are reshaping the health care space, and hospice is no exception. Data has played a large role in the ability to gauge the impact of end-of life care. Hospice providers have needed a window into access and utilization, as well as how lawmakers are shaping policies around health care. This article is the second […]
Having a detailed lens into quality metrics and service costs is a key for hospices that are searching for sustainable value-based payment pathways. Quality and cost data are important pieces to bring to negotiating tables with payers in value-based reimbursement, according to Joe Calcutt, CFO of Liberty Healthcare Management. Hospices that can demonstrate the ability […]
Fraud, waste and abuse issues that have percolated in the hospice space have put providers up against some regulatory walls. Heightened scrutiny around hospice from regulatory agencies is not without warrant, but increased oversight can have adverse effects on the ability to provide quality care, according to Bill Dombi, president, National Association for Home Care […]
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) recently re-introduced legislation designed to expand the palliative care workforce. The two lawmakers, along with others, also brought forth a second bill designed to ensure that hospice patients who need blood transfusions can receive them. The bipartisan-supported Provider Training in Palliative Care Act aims to increase the […]
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