Embracing the four M's—a path to person-centered, reliable hospice and palliative care | part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Margherita Labson and Kelly McCutcheon Adams; 8/7/26 
What if the future of hospice isn't about adding more complexity—but about returning to what matters most? In Part Two of this compelling conversation, host Chris Comeaux continues his discussion with Kelly McCutcheon Adams and Margherita Labson, exploring how the Four M's framework—Mentation, Mobility, Medication, and What Matters—can transform hospice and palliative care into a more reliable, person-centered model.  Together, they unpack why cognitive health, emotional well-being, and mobility deserve far more attention than they often receive, emphasizing that even when illness cannot be cured, comfort, dignity, and meaningful moments can still be protected.

Home health, hospice admissions surge as Medicare Advantage growth plateaus
McKnights Home Care; by Marissa Fernandez; 8/6/26  
Providers could potentially have a new benchmark for fee-for-service home care admissions, according to the latest report from Trella Health. The annual interactive Post-Acute Market Intelligence Report: 2026 Edition also found increases in home health and hospice admissions, as well as other related data changes that could signal national trends.

The leadership pendulum and the paradox of choice: how leaders balance purpose, power and performance 
Chief Learning Officer; by Wesley Payne McClendon; 8/6/2026 
Institutions drift not when leaders hesitate, but when they overcorrect, substitute force for judgment or confuse visible action with disciplined leadership. The real leadership challenge is to keep purpose, power and performance in proportion so the organization can move forward with legitimacy, clarity and endurance. ... The leadership challenge is to remain anchored in purpose and governance, apply the right amount of force, hold the necessary tension, stay close enough to lived reality to remain relevant and resist swings that create more disruption than progress. Viewed in this way, leadership is not judged only by visible action, but by the mechanics that produce drift, overreach, correction and return.
Examine McClendon's teaching graphic for "The Leadership Pendulum"

Hudson Valley Hospice lights the Walkway in Memory of loved ones 
Times Hudson Valley, Newgurgh, NY; by Mark Reynolds; 8/5/26 
The Hudson Valley Hospice Foundation held its second annual Lights Across the Hudson luminary event Friday evening at the midpoint of the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park. The free event offered visitors a chance for reflection, connection and shared memory of loved ones who have died. Thousands of glowing luminaries, each honoring an individual, lined the southern side of the walkway’s 1.28-mile span. ... “Tonight, as the sun sets and the Walkway begins to glow with thousands of luminaries, we are reminded that love does not end when a life ends,” Lisa Wilson, executive director of the foundation said. ... Wilson said each luminary represents its own story. ... Students from Hudson Valley Voices in Harmony, led by choral director Stephanie Hu-Corbett, performed several selections, including “Be the Light.”

Why the proposed palliative care benefit comes up short for home care advocates
McKnight's Homecare; by John Roszkowski; 8/3/26
Palliative care providers are encouraged by a new provision in the federal home health payment rule that would expand community-based palliative care for some Medicare beneficiaries, but many questions remain on whether the proposed change would have a significant impact... Providers have long advocated for an expansion of community-based palliative care under the home health benefit in original Medicare and the fact CMS is finally recognizing its potential value is “an encouraging signal,” according to Fred Bentley, managing principal for Bentley Health Strategies, which provides strategic consulting and analytics and post-acute care provider organizations. Still, he said the proposed change CMS is considering would be limited to a relatively small subset of seriously ill fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries that are homebound and need skilled care.

Hospice leaders: palliative care through home health a limited prospect 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/6/26 
Structuring palliative care payment through the home health benefit is the wrong approach, according to some hospice leaders. The U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in its proposed 2027 home health rule included language specifying that Medicare would cover community-based palliative care through the Medicare home health benefit. ... CMS indicated in a statement, “Therefore, in this proposed rule, CMS states that skilled palliative care services can be furnished and billed under existing Medicare home health benefits for eligible patients with serious illnesses.” ... But the home health chassis is not built to support the full range of interdisciplinary palliative care, some hospice leaders contend. The benefit also imposes certain limitations. For example, patients would need to be homebound. ...

Nevada doctor charged with $95M wound care fraud on Medicare
OIG press release; 8/5/26
A federal grand jury in the District of Nevada returned an indictment yesterday charging Stephen Dubin, M.D., 74, of Henderson, Nevada, with a $95 million scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts that he and others applied to elderly Medicare patients... Dubin allegedly applied these allografts to elderly patients — including vulnerable patients in hospice care — without medical necessity.

Sixth Circuit clarifies Medicare safe harbor for hospice providers in landmark coverage decision 
JD Supra; by Jason Bring and Bill Dombi; 8/5/26 
Key Takeaways

• The Sixth Circuit clarified that hospice providers may qualify for Medicare’s statutory safe harbor when they reasonably and in good faith interpret Medicare coverage requirements, even if coverage is later denied.
• The decision rejects a blanket rule that knowledge of a LCD automatically defeats safe harbor protection under 42 U.S.C. § 1395pp, requiring individualized reasonableness analysis instead.
• Hospice providers should review documentation, eligibility determinations, and Medicare appeal strategies in light of this precedent, which may significantly affect future overpayment disputes and recoupment actions.

52 hospitals closing departments or ending services
Becker's Hospital Review; by Andrew Cass; 8/7/26
A number of healthcare organizations have recently closed medical departments or ended services at facilities to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or address staffing shortages. Here are 52 department closures or services that are ending or have been announced, advanced or finalized that Becker’s reported since Jan. 1: ... [#40 names, "Minot, N.D.-based Trinity Health is suspending home health and outpatient hospice services. ...] 

The benefits and hidden costs of AI scribes
Healthcare Brew; by Maia Anderson; 8/5/26
Ambient AI scribes have typically been marketed as tools to reduce providers’ administrative burden by speeding up the clinical documentation process. They may also be useful in boosting health system revenues. Multiple studies show that scribe usage is leading to more billing codes being included in clinical notes, which in turn leads to higher reimbursement from insurers and higher revenues for hospitals. That may be a slight boon for health systems, experts said. But, they cautioned that it could also increase overall medical costs and insurance premiums, particularly when scribes are used in inpatient settings, which involve billing for much higher-cost services. Whether they also result in improvements in care is unclear.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, Oct. 10, 2026, with theme "Pain management - an essential part of palliative care
Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA); Press Release; 8/7/26
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. WHPCD has been marked every year since 2005. Join us on Saturday 10 October 2026 to advocate for better hospice and palliative care services around the world.

• Download a wealth of resources, including the toolkit, here. We will be adding 2026 resources to the website in the coming months including toolkits in different languages. Please keep checking for updates.
• Follow the links to add your event to the WHPCD global map and calendar.

Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work. ~ C.S. Lewis
Happy New School Year! Whenever it happens. Wherever you are. ~ from Hospice & Palliative Care Today