Literature Review

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Rep. Earl Blumenauer plans landmark hospice reform billHospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/13/24Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is drafting a landmark bill that, if enacted, would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight. Blumenauer announced the bill, the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act, on Thursday at the Hospice News Elevate conference in Washington D.C. Though the bill language is still in development, key provisions will likely include a new payment mechanism for high-acuity palliative services, changes to the per-diem payment process and actions to improve quality and combat fraud.

Breaking The Silence: Groundbreaking Guide on Tackling Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Released by NPHI and NO MORENPHI press release; 6/13/24New Guide Equips Caregivers with Life-Saving Information to Spot Abuse and Empowers Them to Protect Elders. In advance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) [on June 15, 2024], the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) and NO MORE are proud to announce the release of a new educational resource titled Breaking the Silence, a comprehensive guide that takes a significant step towards tackling domestic violence, elder abuse, and neglect among more vulnerable populations. The guide provides insights into the prevalence and various forms of abuse. It offers steps for identifying signs of abuse, supports healthcare providers in screening and responding to suspected abuse, and includes information on available resources for victims, caregivers, and families. Some of the key takeaways from the guide include:

Mental distress, depression, drug deaths increasing among older adultsBecker's Behavioral Health; by Rylee Wilson; 6/7/24Rates of mental distress and other behavioral health conditions are on the rise among older adults, according to America’s Health Rankings 2024 Senior Report. The annual report, published by UnitedHealth Group, ranks states on over 50 dimensions of health.

Decatur Fire & Rescue brighten day for man in hospice careWAFF 48 (AL); 6/6/24Decatur Fire & Rescue helped cheer up a man in hospice care on Thursday. Bobby Lacy, 68, is in hospice care due to congestive heart failure. Lacy, whose biggest passions are fire trucks and cowboy boots, also has Down syndrome. Members of Decatur Fire & Rescue made a special visit to Lacy to see one of their fire trucks in person.

June is Adult Protection Awareness MonthKREX Grand Junction (CO); by Jessica Livingstone; 6/8/24June is Adult Protection Awareness Month, and Mesa County kicked this month off by tying purple ribbons around their campus to show their support for the victims. WesternSlopeNow talked to HopeWest about the resources they have to protect the community. If you’d like to know more information about HopeWest’s resources, you can call or click here.Publisher's Note: How is your hospice participating in Adult Protection Awareness Month?

Medicare Advantage members spend over $2,500 less than traditional Medicare enrollees annually: StudyBecker's Payer Issues; by Jakob Emerson; 6/10/24Medicare Advantage enrollees spend more than $2,500 less on healthcare costs on average than traditional Medicare enrollees, according to an independent analysis by ATI Advisory. The analysis was commissioned by the Better Medicare Alliance and published June 10. It used data from the Medicare current beneficiary survey and cost supplement files from 2019 to 2021. Six key takeaways:

Other Business Headlines of Interest, updated 6/13/24 per nasdaq.com

Top News Stories of the Month May 2024 - TCN Podcast TCN Talks - Teleios Collaborative Network; Mark Cohen, Cordt Kassner and Joy Berger; 6/13/24In this week’s podcast, Mark Cohen, Cordt Kassner, and Joy Berger discuss the top news stories in the Hospice community for the month of May.  Additionally, they take you behind the scenes of how newsletters like Hospice News Today was assembled each day and how Hospice & Palliative Care Today is produced for your leadership to use, each day.

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne: Crack down on hospice fraud Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/12/24 Rep. Beth Van Duyne, (R-Texas) has emerged as one of Washington’s most vocal advocates for hospice providers in Congress. ... Van Duyne was among a group of lawmakers that wrote to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks LaSure last month requesting updates on the agency’s battles against fraudulent providers, as well as a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on quality issues in the hospice space. Hospice News spoke with Rep. Van Duyne in Washington D.C. on congressional efforts to root out fraud and where they should go next. 

Acting now to sustain and improve America’s healthcare system: Advice from innovative physicians and health system leadersSheppardMullin Healthcare Law Blog; by Kathleen O'Neill, John Golembesky, Jeralin Cardoso, Chi Huynh & Carolyn Young; 6/6/24 At [the recent] America’s Physician Groups Spring conference in San Diego, California, we listened as physicians and health system leaders described the ways in which they are responding to short and long term challenges to the sustainability of America’s healthcare system in its current form. It now stands at a critical juncture, facing challenges such as provider shortages and burnout, increasing concerns around access and cost for pharmaceutical products and other supplies, the increasing burden of managing chronic diseases, rising demand for services across the spectrum from an aging population, and balancing the transition to value-based care models in a predominantly fee-for-service environment. ... Here, we outline the key areas of focus described by leaders at the conference: ... 

Palliative care considerations in frail older adults Annals of Palliative Medicine; by Andrew E Russell, Rachel Denny, Pearl G Lee, Marcos L Montagnini; 6/6/24, online ahead of print...This paper aims to guide clinicians in providing patientcentered care for older adults with frailty in the outpatient setting. Through a comprehensive literature review, we describe the leading models of frailty, frailty screening tools used in the clinical setting, and the assessment and management of palliative care needs in frail patients. We also describe emerging models of care focusing on palliative care for older adults with frailty and discuss issues related to access to palliative care for this population.

Nursing homes are left in the dark as more utilities cut power to prevent wildfires News-Medical.net; by KFF Health News; 6/10/24 When powerful wind gusts created threatening wildfire conditions one day near Boulder, Colorado, the state's largest utility cut power to 52,000 homes and businesses — including Frasier, an assisted living and skilled nursing facility. It was the first time Xcel Energy preemptively switched off electricity in Colorado as a wildfire prevention tool, according to a company official. The practice, also known as public safety power shut-offs, has taken root in California and is spreading elsewhere as a way to keep downed and damaged power lines from sparking blazes and fueling the West's more frequent and intense wildfires.