Medicare claims for unrelated services creates serious financial and legal risks for hospice providers — even if they are not the ones who sent the bill. During recent years, payouts for non-hospice services provided to Medicare beneficiaries have tipped into the billions. Investigators have urged regulators to ramp up oversight of potentially inappropriate billing practices. […]
Minnesota-based St. Croix Hospice continues to stretch its footprint across the Midwest with a de novo located in the southern region of its home state. Opening a new location in Albert Lea, Minn., will help improve access to more communities in the area, according to St. Croix CEO Heath Bartness. The hospice has provided services […]
As the hospice community takes its first steps into value-based reimbursement, stakeholders have an opportunity to re-examine elements of the Medicare Hospice Benefit that may be outdated, according to some providers. The hospice benefit became a formal part of Medicare in 1983. Initially, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and its collaborators […]
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would extend telehealth waivers until the end of 2024, whether or not the COVID-19 public health emergency is extended. This includes the ability to re-certify patients for hospice through virtual visits. The bill, dubbed the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, cleared the House with an […]
With certificate of need laws in a constant state of flux, hospices wrestle with the pros and cons of these regulations. On one side of the coin, CON laws can limit access to hospice and their growth potential. On the other side, CONs can spell the difference between surviving and thriving hospice sustainability, along with […]
When it comes to communication and quality of care for Black patients, recent data reinforces the notion that hospices have room to grow. The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) recently released key findings in its research review aimed at uncovering disparities in serious illness care quality and patient experiences among underserved populations. Among the […]
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has extended the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for another 90 days. A continued federally declared emergency allows flexibilities instituted by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to remain intact, such as 1135 waivers of certain hospice rules. These flexibilities permitted the use […]
The return of sequestration is adding to the financial storms brewing in hospice, as providers contend with rising costs of delivering patient care, inflation and lackluster reimbursement. Providers are increasingly concerned about their ability to sustain their businesses through choppy waters, calling on regulators to step up support. After a moratorium during the pandemic, Medicare […]
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Somerset health system is halting inpatient services at its Pennsylvania-based hospice facility, effective Aug. 1. Closure of the In Touch Hospice center has inflamed the community, with cries growing louder to urge UPMC to reconsider the move. The health system cited declining patient admissions as the main reason […]
More than a dozen hospice advocacy groups have called on congressional leadership to intervene in a proposed 2.7% bump in Medicare payments, which they say is insufficient in light of COVID-19 and staffing headwinds. The organizations signed a letter to party leaders in both chambers of Congress. Signatories included the National Hospice & Palliative Care […]
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