Literature Review

NPHI calls for thoughtful hospice payment reform that rewards high-quality care National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; Press Release; 6/16/26The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI)is calling for thoughtful modernization of the Medicare Hospice Benefit while raising concerns about recommendations contained in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that could fundamentally alter the hospice benefit and potentially lead to substantial changes in provider reimbursement. NPHI is exploring potential reforms to the current hospice payment structure, including steps to reduce incentives for bad actors and poor-quality care by lowering the hospice aggregate cap, and reallocating dollars within the existing payment methodology to better compensate high-quality, mission-driven providers caring for the sickest patients. NPHI believes these types of reforms would better align reimbursement with patient needs, preserve the core principles of hospice care, and encourage providers to deliver care based on patient need rather than financial incentives. ...

CHAP: CMS posts Accrediting Organizations (AOs) Oversight Final Rule with Comment Community Health Accreditation Partner; Press Release; 6/16/26 Medicare Program; Strengthening Oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AOs) and Preventing AO Conflicts of Interest, and Related Provisions was posted on the Federal Register Public Inspection desk on 6/12/2026 and is estimated to post in the Federal Register on June 16, 2026. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will accept comments related to the proposed rule through August 15, 2026, 11:59 pm. Information about submitting comments appears at the beginning of the rule. This final rule is effective June 16, 2027.

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Celebrating the opening of the Hope Campus with community ribbon cutting Blue Ridge Care, Winchester, VA; by Blue Ridge Care Marketing; 6/12/26 A New Home for Care, Connection, and Support: Blue Ridge Care [formerly known as Blue Ridge Hospice] officially celebrated the opening of its Hope Campus on Thursday, June 11, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held in partnership with the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber. ... One Campus, Many Ways to Care: The Hope Campus brings together several Blue Ridge Care programs in one place, including our Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) at Blue Ridge Independence at Home; our Community Grief Support Services at the Center for Hope & Healing; Volunteer Services; and our new Supportive Care Program.

Well-timed nudges help care providers to honor the wishes of patients with cancer according to study National Comprehensive Cancer Network; edited by Gaby Clark and reviewed by Andrew Zinin; 6/15/26 New research in the June 2026 issue of Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network finds that small, targeted prompts delivered to both patients and providers at the right moment can significantly increase the number of serious illness conversations that take place. The randomized controlled trial out of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tested two simple nudges designed to encourage important conversations between patients with cancer and their oncologists about goals and preferences for care. ... When these nudges were combined, these conversations occurred significantly more often.

LA City fraud: How many millions has the county lost? FilmDaily; by Simone Barbon; 6/15/26 Los Angeles County continues to tally losses from multiple fraud schemes that targeted public funds during and after the pandemic. Taxpayers want concrete numbers on how much money disappeared and whether recent prosecutions are closing the gaps. 

Vance’s fraud task force is sweeping up legitimate small businesses The Washington Post, Washington, DC; by Isaac Arnsdorf; 6/15/26 The vice president and other officials have downplayed evidence of collateral damage in their crackdown on fraudulent hospices. In April, when the Trump administration began suspending about 800 hospices in the Los Angeles area suspected of fraud, a small local agency started accepting patients from the affected providers. The owner never thought he would be next. ... “The Trump administration is taking a pretty aggressive tactic here, but the downside is you’re often going to catch up legitimate actors because you’re not really taking the time to do your due diligence,” said Hillary Loeffler, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for the National Alliance for Care at Home, an industry group, who worked on hospice issues at CMS until 2025.

The pain of caring for a parent who abused youDNYUZ; 6/16/26 It started in January 2024, with a call from her father’s eye doctor. Did Carole know that Andre was still driving, even though his vision was so poor? Even though it was illegal to drive with eyesight so bad? Well, no, she didn’t; she made a point not to know this sort of thing about her father. Also, she didn’t really care. Still, Carole drove to his house, on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, Calif., down long dirt roads surrounded by vineyards. ... And there was her father, 93, standing by the front door, on that filthy rug, next to the maroon-colored walker that he hated to use. Looking small, looking weathered. ... 

MedPAC Executive Summary - June 2026 report MedPAC; 6/15/26As part of its mandate from the Congress, each June the Commission reports on potential improvements to Medicare payment systems and issues that affect the Medicare program, including changes to health care delivery and the market for health care services. The six chapters of our June 2026 report cover the following topics:

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High schooler shares final milestone with Dad after hospice nurses help him organize bedside graduation ceremony People; by Abigail Adams; 6/12/26 A dad got to watch his son graduate from high school just days before he died in hospice care. Brad Case was put into hospice care after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer, according to WPTA. So, his son Braden Case, a senior at Hamilton Junior Senior High School in Hamilton, Ind., did what he could to make sure his dad could see him graduate. Braden worked with nurses to put together the improvised graduation ceremony at Brad's bedside. A photo taken from the special moment, shared by WPTA, showed Braden in his blue cap and gown while standing by his father's side. Braden told WPTA that Brad had always been there for his big moments in life, and he wanted to ensure his dad witnessed this one.

The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care celebrates grand Opening of the Dorion Family Pediatric Center PR Newswire, Jacksonville, FL; by The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care; 6/12/26The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Dorion Family Pediatric Center on Thursday, June 11, marking a significant milestone in expanding care for children with serious and complex illnesses in Northeast Florida. More than 300 community leaders, donors, families, and supporters gathered at the Earl B. Hadlow Campus to commemorate the opening of the new center, which is the first-of-its-kind pediatric hospice and palliative care center in Florida and one of only a few in the United States.

Penn Medicine’s approach to clinical care AI tools focuses on problems they want to solve Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (PSQH); by Christopher Cheney; 6/12/26 Penn Medicine has embraced a range of AI tools in clinical care such as a new collaboration with K Health that includes AI tools to engage patients and tee up visits with clinicians. ... With so many AI tool options becoming available in clinical care, it is important for senior leaders to have a focused approach for AI tool adoption, according to Srinath Adusumalli, MD, vice president and chief health information officer at Penn Medicine. “At the highest level, when we adopt AI tools in clinical care, we focus on the problems we are trying to solve,” Adusumalli says.