Literature Review

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. ~Nelson Mandela

Biden announces ‘major step’ toward reclassifying marijuanaThe Hill; by Joseph Choi; 5/16/24The Biden administration announced Thursday it had initiated the formal rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III from its Schedule I designation that it has held for more than 50 years. CBS website maps states where marijuana is legal for recreational and / or medical use.

What healthcare REITs mean for providers, patientsModern Healthcare; by Hayley DeSilva; 5/14/24Steward Health Care's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is the latest example of the significant role real estate investment trusts play in healthcare. REITs have served as a financial solution for providers and health systems, allowing them to broaden their networks without as hefty a capital investment. Steward, for example, is the largest tenant of Medical Properties Trust, which bought Steward's real estate assets in 2016. The REIT, which also owns 10% of Steward, has approved $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing to help Steward maintain patient care while looking for operators for its hospitals.

Recognizing the physical and emotional toll that caring for a loved one with a chronic condition has on the caregiverMedical Xpress; by American Heart Association; 5/15/24Living with a chronic medical condition after surviving a heart attack or stroke may come with additional health and personal care needs. Often survivors must rely on a family member or close friend to help. However, there's a growing body of scientific research that shows people who serve as unpaid caregivers may not be getting the care they need to live longer, healthier lives, according to the American Heart Association...

Optum spent $31B on acquisitions in 2 yearsBecker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 5/13/24In the last two years, Optum has spent $31 billion on acquisitions, The Oregonian reported May 13. In the state of Oregon, Optum has acquired 12 healthcare provider companies including Oregon Medical Group, GreenField Health System, Family Medical Group Northeast as well as an independent physician association in Portland. ... This comes as Optum is currently pursuing authorization to acquire Amedisys, a home health care firm, for $3.3 billion.

Home care providers need to step up worker safety initiatives, experts sayMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/14/24In the aftermath of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s citing of Elara Caring for failing to protect a worker killed on the job, safety and legal experts are urging providers to be proactive about implementing worker safety practices. “We have been seeing a rather significant uptick in workplace violence issues in the home-based care industry,” Angelo Spinola, an attorney at Polsinelli, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse, in a statement. “We highly recommend that providers take proactive steps to implement home-based care specific policies and procedures and conduct workplace trainings that address common issues such as what to do if a client is acting erratically, how to report unsafe conditions in the home [such as an unsecured firearm], de-escalation techniques, etc.”

98-year-old Marine veteran in hospice care finally receives his high school diploma[MD] WJLA; by Jay Korff; 5/18/24A nearly 100-year-old Marine veteran in hospice Friday was hand-delivered the high school diploma he never received. 98-year-old Richard Remp was unable to get his diploma back in the 1940s because he dropped out at age 17 to serve in World War II, then Korea, and then Vietnam. But he savored the remarkable moment Friday.

Compliance Strategies for Forthcoming Hospice HOPE ToolHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/16/24Hospices will have a learning curve when it comes to implementing the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation Tool (HOPE) tool. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently developing quality measures that will be included in the HOPE tool, which will replace the current Hospice Item Set (HIS). After years of development, the agency in its recent hospice proposed rule indicated that the HOPE tool’s implementation would begin in 2025.Notable Mentions: Jennifer Kennedy, CHAP; Kimberly Skehan, CHAP.

The Private-Equity Deal That Flattened a Hospital Chain and Its LandlordWall Street Journal; by Jonathan WeilFollow; 5/7/24Cerberus made a big profit, but Steward went bankrupt and its landlord suffered big losses. In the spring of 2020, Cerberus Capital Management was faced with a tricky financial situation. It owned a struggling hospital chain that needed $400 million to dig out of a deep financial hole, but Cerberus wanted to sell rather than invest more. The deal helped shape much of what followed for Steward Health Care System over the next four years, culminating this week in the Chapter 11 filing of Steward, one of the biggest hospital bankruptcies in U.S. history. ... The 2020 deal paved the way for Cerberus to sell its majority stake in Steward to the hospital chain’s chief executive and others and lock in an eventual $800 million profit. It bought time for the CEO and new majority owner, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, who received a big cash payout himself the next year.

Caring for young caregivers, a hidden populationSTAT; by Kimia Heydari, Romila Santra; 5/9/24Of the estimated 48 million caregivers in the U.S., an estimated 14 million are under the age of 24. The growing burden of unpaid caregiving is increasingly falling on young people.

Surging hospital prices are helping keep inflation highWall Street Journal; by Melanie Evans; 5/16/24A 7.7% increase in prices at hospitals last month was the highest in 13 years. ... Hospitals didn’t raise prices as early in the pandemic as supermarkets, retailers and restaurants. But they have been making up ground since then. Their increases have contributed to stubbornly high inflation readings from the consumer-price index, which in April increased 3.4% from a year ago. Hospital prices specifically jumped 7.7% last month from a year ago, the highest increase in any month since October 2010, the Labor Department said Wednesday. ... Hospitals sat out the first waves of inflation that swept through the economy in recent years, though not by choice. Their prices were locked in under contracts with health insurers, for more than a year in some cases. As hospitals have renegotiated prices, inflation has taken hold.

Addus CEO: Hospice Headwinds Starting to AbateHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/16/24Addus Homecare Corp. (NASDAQ: ADUS) is seeing constrictions on growth start to ease in its hospice business. Many of those headwinds were associated with lingering effects of the pandemic. Like many hospice providers, Addus has faced COVID-19 challenges that include reduced patient volumes and shorter length of stays. Now, the company’s hospice rebound is starting to accelerate, CEO Dirk Allison said during the Bank of America Securities Health Care Conference.

‘Great Resignation’ becomes ‘Great Reshuffle’ of American jobsMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/16/24After a record number of workers left their jobs in the early part of the decade in what was known as the “Great Resignation,” the American workforce has entered a period now dubbed the “Great Reshuffle,” according to the World Economic Forum. “While quit rates remain high, hiring rates continue to outpace them as many workers have been transitioning to other jobs in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, or a strong company culture,” the US Chamber of Commerce reported.