VITAS VP: Working with Senior Living Pays Off for Hospices

Engaging with senior living operators to provide hospice care in their facilities can provide opportunities to grow patient census and encounter patients earlier in the course of their illness, according to Mark Hayes, vice president of operations in Sumter County, Fla., for VITAS Healthcare, the hospice subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE).  VITAS recently opened […]

Court: Difference of Opinion is Not Hospice Fraud

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals partially affirmed a decision in favor of Arkansas-based hospice provider AseraCare in False Claims Act (FCA) case that has widespread implications for the hospice industry. The appellate court agreed with the Northern District of Alabama that a mere difference of physician’s opinions on a terminal patient’s prognosis does not […]

Hospices Gain from Value-Based Advanced Care Plan Initiatives

As more of the U.S. health care system migrates towards value-based care, efforts on the part of payers and other stakeholders to promote advance care planning could lead to increased hospice utilization as well as earlier admission of prospective patients. Advance care planning is designed to identify patients’ wishes, goals, and desires for their care […]

Hospice Sees Uptick in M&A Activity During Q2 2019

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 […]

VITAS Aligning Staff Retention Efforts with Hospice Mission

Amid industry-wide staff shortages that are expected to worsen in coming years, VITAS Healthcare is leveraging current and prospective employees’ commitments to the hospice mission in efforts to build and retain its workforce, Nicholas Westfall, president and CEO of VITAS Healthcare, said in a second-quarter earnings conference call for parent company Chemed (NYSE: CHE). Hospices […]

OIG Report Includes VITAS ‘Immediate Jeopardy’ Finding

VITAS Healthcare, the nation’s largest hospice provider and a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE), received an “immediate jeopardy” finding from Missouri state surveyors for missing required home visits, insufficient wound care for a patient’s pressure ulcer, and failing to sufficiently manage patients’ pain, according to a state survey findings report obtained by Hospice News. […]

VITAS Expands Florida Operations to Treasure Coast Region

VITAS Healthcare, a hospice subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE), has received two certificates of need in Florida, signaling that the company is expanding its operations across a region known as the Treasure Coast. The Miami-based hospice provider will also build a new 16-bed freestanding inpatient facility in southwest Miami-Dade County. In addition to hospice […]

CMS Proposed Rule Could Hurt Small Hospice Providers, Large Companies Unfazed 

National and regional hospice chains seem unfazed by proposed Medicare payment rebasing for fiscal year 2020—confident that the updates will not adversely affect their businesses—though smaller organizations may take a more significant hit. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in late April released its annual proposed rule that outlines the agency’s regulatory […]

Cornerstone Acquires Resolutions Hospice

Cornerstone Healthcare Inc., a subsidiary of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ: ENSG), as of May 1 acquired the assets of Texas-based Resolutions Hospice for an undisclosed amount. Cornerstone subsidiaries now operate 26 hospice operations, 25 home health operations, and nine other home care operations across 12 states. Prior to this transaction Resolutions Hospice was a family-owned […]

VITAS Margins Solid Despite Admissions Drop

VITAS Healthcare, the largest hospice provider in the United States, showed positive margins for the first quarter of 2019 despite a decline in admissions, according to a quarterly earnings report from its parent company, Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CME). VITAS’ gross margins for routine home care services reached 52.7 percent during the first quarter, a 60 […]