Literature Review

[United Kingdom] Children's hospice to shut days before Christmas BBC News, London, England; by Amy Clarke; 12/12/25 A children's hospice that has supported children living with complex life-limiting conditions for 25 years is due to close just days before Christmas. Richard House in Newham, east London, provides specialist care to more than 300 families - offering services such as residential care, transition from hospital to home, bereavement support and end-of-life care. 

TCMH Hospice of Care online auction raises record amount Houston Herald; by Helania Wulff; 12/11/25 The TCMH Healthcare Foundation announced that this year’s Hospice of Care online auction and new in-person wrap-up party set a new all-time fundraising record, bringing in $38,454.64 to support its Hospice of Care program. The hybrid format, online bidding throughout the week, capped with a live auction-style finale at Piney River Brewing on Friday night, helped drive engagement and push the event past last year’s record total. 

Long-term hospice stay: New edit to prevent overpayment CMS - MLN Matters - Medicare Learning Network; by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; 12/5/25Related CR Release Date: December 5, 2025Effective Date: April 1, 2026Implementation Date: April 6, 2026Action Needed: Make sure your billing staff knows about a new edit that will help identify and prevent overpayments of long-term hospice care for claims submitted with matching “admission” and “from” dates.Key Updates: This new edit in the CWF will close the gap in the system that allows claims to pay at a higher rate when the “admission” and “from” dates match. MACs will reject hospice claims when the “admission” date doesn’t match the election period start date on the corresponding election period. ...

Palliative care interventions for caregivers of people with advanced dementia: A meta-analysis Sigma Global Nursing Excellence - Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing; by Ita Daryanti Saragih, Ira Suarilah, Hsun-Kuei Ko, Ice Septriani Saragih, Bih-O Lee; 12/11/25 Conclusion: Palliative care interventions were successful in reducing conflict in decision-making of caregivers of people with advanced dementia. ... Linking Evidence to Action: Future palliative care interventions for caregivers of advanced dementia patients should focus on developing the contents of palliative care materials based on evidence-based evaluations and explore strategies to improve engagement between patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.

4 hospice buyers acquire Traditions Health Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/3/25 Traditions Health has been acquired by four hospice providers, each dividing the company’s assets across their geographic footprints. The Care Team, VitalCaring, LifeCare Home Health Family and Mission Healthcare have each purchased a portion of Traditions Health’s locations. Financial terms of these transactions are undisclosed. Traditions was formerly a portfolio company of the private equity firm Dorilton Capital Partners. 

Medicare's AI prior authorization pilot sparks backlash over incentives to deny care Complete AI Training | Insurance; by Joren Erne; 12/7/25 CMS will pilot AI prior auth in traditional Medicare across AZ, NJ, OH, OK, TX, WA through 2031. Expect tougher reviews, vendor incentives, and pushback on denials and delays. ... For insurance professionals, this is a signal: CMS is importing private-plan utilization tactics into fee-for-service Medicare, with financial incentives tied to denial-driven cost savings. Expect policy, operations, and provider relations to feel it. 

Hospice margins dropping despite utilization gains Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/9/25 Hospice margins are falling despite record-high utilization, according to data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The commission has released its draft recommendations to Congress, repeating its annual call to eliminate hospice payment rate increases in future years. “For fiscal year, 2027, Congress should eliminate the update to the 2026 Medicare base payment rate for hospice,” MedPAC indicated in its draft recommendations. ... The average Medicare fee-for-service margin for hospices fell to 8% in 2023, down from 9.8% in 2022 and 14.2% in 2020, according to MedPAC. Among for-profit providers, the average 2023 margin was 13.7%, whereas nonprofits in aggregate showed a loss at -1.3%. These numbers exclude cap overpayments and non-reimbursible costs. These declines occurred during a time of record-breaking demand. Hospice utilization in 2024 reached the highest rate it has ever seen at 53%, MedPAC reported. More than 1.8 million Medicare decedents received hospice care that year for a total of 148 million days of service. [MedPAC 12/5/25 report here.]

Poured out and given: The lived experience of self-care among hospice nurses in rural Appalachia Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Amanda Camden, Sandra P Thomas, Lisa C Lindley, Lisa Davenport, Ali Winters; 12/5/25, Online ahead of print Hospice nurses encounter profound challenges that make self-care both essential and deeply complex. ... The findings suggest that practicing self-care must be augmented by other actions such as systemic changes, caseload limits, leadership training, and structured emotional support systems. This study highlights the urgent need for health care systems to prioritize hospice nurses' well-being and help sustain compassionate nursing care.

AARP: 55 percent of family caregivers use tech to coordinate care McKnights Home Care; by Donna Shryer; 12/9/25 Technology adoption is surging on both sides of the caregiving equation. AARP estimates there are about 63 million unpaid caregivers nationwide, and among those caregivers age 50 and older, 55% now use one or more digital tools to manage routines, coordinate care or track health. Among all adults age 50+ (unpaid caregivers and care recipients), 78% say they rely on technology to stay connected with friends and family, according to AARP’s newly released 2026 Tech Trends and Adults 50-Plus report.Guest Editor's Note, by Judi Lund Person: As AARP points out, today’s caregivers are increasingly likely to use technology to coordinate care for their loved ones. Are hospice and palliative care providers up to the challenge – if your plumber can notify you that they are 15 minutes away, is there technology in place that will alert the caregiver that the hospice nurse or aide is 15 minutes away? How are you equipping your care teams to communicate with caregivers effectively, efficiently, and securely? Remember, a CAHPS Hospice question is, "How often did the hospice team let you know when they would arrive to care for your family member?"

Healthcare fraud enforcement trends to expect in 2026 JD Supra; by Arnall Golden Gregory; 12/8/25Key Takeaways

CHAP celebrates 60 years in home-based care Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP); email and website; 12/5/25 This year, CHAP marked a milestone that speaks volumes about our legacy and our future: our Diamond Jubilee. Sixty years of progress, partnership, and innovation came to life as our incredible team gathered to celebrate not just an anniversary, but the people who make our mission possible every day. It was a moment to honor the tradition that began in 1965 and continues to shape home-based care across the nation; a tradition built on excellence, compassion, and a shared commitment to the providers we serve. As we reflected on six decades of impact, the celebration reminded us of something even more powerful: the strength of our present and the promise of what’s next.Editor's Note: Hospice & Palliative Care Today celebrates CHAP immeasurable contributions to improving patient / caregiver / family care, staff education and standards, organizational systems, and more!

MedPAC to recommend 7% cut to 2027 home health payment rate Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 12/8/25 Just over a week after home health providers were hit with the announcement that their 2026 Medicare payment rates would be reduced by a 1.3% aggregate cut, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) agreed to recommend a significantly more drastic cut for the following year. On Friday, MedPAC released a draft report recommending that Congress reduce the Medicare base payment rate for home health care services for calendar year 2027 by 7%. 

Value bias and ethnocentrism and its effect on advance care planning: Mind the gapJournal of General Internal Medicine; Jeffrey T Berger, Dana Ribeiro Miller; 11/25After decades of efforts by academic and professional organizations and by governmental agencies to promote advance care planning, less than half of adults in the USA have formally executed advance directives. For patients who have completed these documents, studies find limited impact on end-of-life care. In this paper, we discussed ways in which bias towards certain values in the health care enterprise including ethnocentrism, the centering of one set of cultural norms, may contribute to the public's ambivalence and the relative inefficacy of advance directives. We offer a more expansive perspective on this aspect of clinical care with the goal of serving all patients more effectively.