If enacted, the recently reintroduced Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA) could make a dent in the recruitment barriers that hospices keep hitting. But clinical education will need a much larger boost to ensure a sustainable workforce, according to many providers. The training issue is a serious impediment to hospice recruitment, as very […]
RBC Capital Markets
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a 2.7% pay increase for hospice care for Fiscal Year 2023. However, that amount may be a drop in the bucket as COVID-19 headwinds rage, inflation surges and employee wages climb. Beyond the rising costs, Medicare is phasing in the return of payment sequestration, […]
LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) will acquire home health and hospice operations in 22 states from the joint venture between Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) and hospital system HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA). Brookdale sold an 80% stake in its home health, hospice and outpatient therapy business to HCA earlier this year in a $400 million deal. […]
Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is seeing its hospice and home health growth rates tripling based on rising patient census and a robust acquisitions pipeline. Hospice remains at the core of the company’s M&A strategy; Amedisys expects to see activity pick up in the home health sector as well this year. Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys last […]
An upswing in occupancy in Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) facilities could bode well for the company’s hospice and home health business, which will soon transition to hospital system HCA Healthcare following completion of a $400 million transaction. HCA will assume 80% ownership of the segment with Brookdale retaining a 20% stake. Senior living occupancy […]
Rising volume in its hospice business helped deflect the impact of COVID-19 headwinds on Brookdale Senior Living’s (NYSE: BKD) Health Care Services Segment in the second quarter, which saw a sharp decline in home health admissions. Home health admissions have been falling off industry-wide during the pandemic due to widespread limitations on elective procedures and […]
The Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) hospice segment saw a drop in referrals and rising costs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic during the first quarter of this year. Though the outbreak creates industry-wide uncertainty about the future, demographic tailwinds, de novo activity and acquisitions show promise for a strong recovery, including the company’s $235 million purchase […]