Literature Review

Revenue pressures driving home care consolidation, private equity’s growing influence, provider group saysMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 6/11/24Pressures such as insufficient government reimbursement and rising Medicare Advantage penetration are contributing to consolidation in home care and hospice, LeadingAge told regulators last week in response to a February request for information surrounding healthcare market competition. “Sustainable fee-for-service rates that cover the continually rising costs of delivering care are of critical importance,” LeadingAge said. “Outside revenue pressures such as lower reimbursement rates from managed care plans, reduced units of service through accountable and managed care organizations, and an increasing need to be an organization of a certain size in order to contract with managed care organizations and accountable care organizations are also factors that drive consideration of consolidation options.” One particular concern, LeadingAge noted, is the growing investment in healthcare by private equity firms. Private equity firms have driven a significant share of home care and hospice consolidation in recent years. PE firms had a hand in 35 home health deals, 15 personal care deals and 13 hospice deals last year, according to a recent report. And studies have shown that patients receiving care from PE-owned providers may experience worse health outcomes than patients at nonprofit agencies.

Alive names hospice industry veteran as CEONashville Post; 6/13/24Nonprofit adds leader one year after nixing would-be sale in face of public pressure. Hospice care and end-of-life services provider Alive announced Thursday that Kerry Hamilton will serve as president and chief executive officer.

HPNA Position Statement: Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD)HPNA's position, policy, and value statements are reviewed every five years. Prior to approval from the Board of Directors, all new, revised, and updated position or value statements are posted for public comment to allow for opinions relevant to the position or value statement for a 30-day period. Statement open for comments through July 7, 2024.Position statement; feedback form

MedPAC releases June 2024 report on Medicare and the health care delivery systemMedPac - Medicare Payment Advisory Commision; Press Release; 6/13/24The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its June 2024 Report [on June 13, 2024] to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System. Each June, as part of its mandate from the Congress, MedPAC reports on improvements to Medicare payment systems, issues affecting the Medicare program, and changes to health care delivery and the market for health care services. This year’s report covers the following topics:

RN pay for all 50 states adjusted by cost of living | 2024 Becker's Hospital Review; by Mackenzie Bean; 6/13/24 California has the highest hourly mean wage for registered nurses, even after adjusted for cost of living, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. [Following] are the mean hourly wages for nurses in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., adjusted for cost of living. Becker's calculated these figures using May 2023 salary data from BLS and 2024 cost of living index data from the World Population Review. (Click on this title's link for each state's (1) RN hourly mean wage, (2) Cost of living index, and (3) RN hourly mean wage, adjusted by cost of living.

'I don't ever trust Epic to be correct': Nurses raise more AI concerns Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 6/14/24 Nurses continue to voice concerns about artificial intelligence and its integration into EHRs, saying the technology is ineffective and interferes with patient care. Nurses from health systems around the country spoke to National Nurses United, their largest labor union, for a June 5 story about issues with such programs as automated nurse handoffs, patient classification systems and sepsis alerts. Multiple nurses cited problems with EHR-based programs from Epic and Oracle Health that use algorithms to determine patient acuity and nurse staffing levels. "I don't ever trust Epic to be correct," Craig Cedotal, RN, a pediatric oncology nurse at Kaiser Permanente Oakland (Calif.) Medical Center, told the nurses' union. "It's never a reflection of what we need, but more a snapshot of what we've done." ... Hundreds of nurses protested AI at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center in April.

CMS: Home healthcare spending estimated to grow by 7.1 percent from 2025 to 2026, surpassing other sectorsMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 6/12/24National spending on home healthcare is projected to grow faster than any other health sector in the years ahead, according to newly published data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary [see Health Affairs: National Health Expenditure Projections, 2023-32: Payer Trends Diverge As Pandemic-Related Policies Fade]. Between 2025 and 2026, national spending on home health care is expected to increase by 7.1%, a data analysis published Wednesday in HealthAffairs revealed. Projected spending growth in home health care should outpace all other categories including hospital care services (4.9%), physician and clinical services (4.8%) and nursing homes care (4.8%), and it is expected to grow even faster during the following years. Between 2027 and 2032, the sector will see spending growth of 8.1%, compared to hospital spending (5.6%), physician and clinical services (5.5%) and nursing home care (6%). In 2022, home health spending increased by roughly 6%, CMS disclosed in a previous report.

Minnesota family featured in new Amazon docuseries covering end-of-lifeCBS News WCCO (MN); by Mackenzie Lofgren, Derek James; 6/12/24A Blaine woman and her family will be featured in Amazon Prime's new six-episode docuseries, "Take Me Out Feet First." The docuseries follows individuals advocating for end-of-life options. The series was created by New York City native, Serene Meshel-Dillman, who was inspired to make the docuseries after she witnessed both of her parents end their lives in the comfort of their home. "Take Me Out Feet First" is a six-part docuseries made in partnership with the nonprofit advocacy group Compassion & Choices. Each episode will follow a different individual or family who has, advocated for, or is actively exploring end-of-life options. The docuseries is available to stream now on Amazon Prime.

Why doctors aren’t participating in organ donation after cardiac death Physician's Weekly; by Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM; 6/13/24Organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) differs from the more traditional organ donation after brain death (DBD) insofar that DCD donors are alive and donate organs after discontinuation of life support so that a natural death with cessation of heartbeat and circulation may occur, followed by extraction of organs. This may increase the availability of transplantable organs, leading to improvement in the lives of other humans.  According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, 5896 donations, representing 36% of all donations in 2023, were DCD, representing an increase of 40.7% over the preceding three years. There, however, are significant ethical and scientific issues in the performance of DCD with concepts of end-of-life care, personal autonomy, and concepts of dignity of life and death. ...

Interim HealthCare Inc. recognized on Forbes list: America’s Best Employers for New Grads 2024 Morningstar; by Business Wire; 6/13/24 Interim HealthCare Inc. ... is recognized as one of the best places to work for recent college graduates on the Forbes America’s Best Employers For New Grads 2024 list. ... For the America’s Best Employers For New Grads list, more than 100,000 professionals with 10 or fewer years of work experience were surveyed at companies with 1,000 or more employees in the United States. The young professionals responded to questions about compensation, benefits, advancement opportunities, working conditions, flexibility, company image, and inclusion, along with whether they would recommend the employer to others. This award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc.

A dream comes true: Hospice patient rides in hot air balloonSedalia Democrat; by Faith Bemiss-McKinney; 6/10/24A long-time dream came true for an area woman with a long-term illness on Friday, June 7, with a tethered hot air balloon ride [courtesy of Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care].Publisher's Note: Subscription may be required to read full article.

Fashion for a Cause shatters another record, raises $240,000 for children’s programs: : Hospice of the Chesapeake The Baynet, Annapolis, MD; by Hospice of the Chesapeake; 6/13/24 Doing great never looked so good on June 7 as around 350 fun-loving people enjoyed perfect weather outside and perfect looks inside at the 14th annual Fashion for a Cause. Held at the Fluegel Alumni Center in Annapolis, the high-spirited crowd smashed its fundraising record, bringing in more than $240,000 for Chesapeake Kids, the Hospice of the Chesapeake program which supports children living with and affected by advanced illness and loss. Returning for his third year was emcee Bryan Nehman, cohost of C4 and Bryan Nehman weekday mornings on WBAL NewsRadio. Sharing the podium with Hospice of the Chesapeake President and CEO Becky Miller, they introduced Marie Burgess, who shared her family’s journey with the Chesapeake Kids program. Editor's Note: Congratulations Hospice of the Chesapeake on this outpouring of community support!

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