Literature Review

Las Vegas Hospice booted from Medicare over ties to sanctioned provider Hoodline; by Christopher Kim; 7/29/26 OneCare Hospice, LLC has been kicked out of Medicare after a federal administrative law judge upheld a government move to cut off the Las Vegas company, not because its own claims were found fraudulent, but because of its legal ties to another Nevada hospice that had already lost its billing privileges. On top of the revocation, OneCare is staring at a 10-year Medicare reenrollment bar and a spot on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicare preclusion list. The decision, issued July 9 after OneCare appealed the earlier agency action, found that federal officials were within their rights to pull OneCare’s enrollment.

Medical Aid in Dying in New York: A changing medical and legal landscape for terminally ill New Yorkers and healthcare professionals New York State Bar Association; by Edward McArdle, Mary Beth Quaranta Morrissey, Adrienne Borschuk and Epiphany G. Ramirez; 7/29/26 Medical aid in dying will soon become a legally permitted medical option for terminally ill patients in New York [on Aug 5]. The chapter amendments, which Gov. Hochul required before signing the bill, introduced several additional patient protections and clarifications to address concerns raised during the legislative process. These amendments include the requirements that all oral requests for the bill be recorded by audio or video device and permanently stored in the patient’s medical record; a mandatory mental health evaluation by a qualified professional to confirm decisional capacity; a five-day waiting period between the writing and filling of the prescription (with a narrow exception if the attending physician determines the patient may die before the period expires); a strict residency requirement limited to New York residents only; an in-person initial physician consultation unless such would cause extraordinary hardship to the patient; and strengthened opt-out rights for individual clinicians and healthcare facilities – including home hospice programs – that hold religious, moral, or ethical objections to participating in MAiD.

Grant supports hospice and home care in Juneau Juneau Empire, Juneau, AK; by Juneau Empire Staff; 7/29/26 A funding boost has provided a lifeline for home health and hospice care in Juneau. The Foundation for End of Life Care provided a $21,643 grant to Bartlett Regional Hospital to support critical equipment and staff training needs for home health and hospice patients and families. Bartlett Regional Hospital controller Andrew Erikson said Home Health and Hospice at Bartlett has relied on a medical equipment distributor to provide essential equipment for home health and hospice patients.

Steps Medicaid plans can take now to prepare for Final CMS Community Engagement (Work) Requirement Rules Healthcare Business Today; by Luke Henderson; 7/25/26 Here’s the question on the mind of almost every Medicaid plan leader: Will our organization be ready once community engagement (work) requirements become mandatory? The answer could determine whether that plan succeeds or fails in the next few years. ... CMS’s Latest Guidance on Work Requirements, Explained ... The IFC specifies that work requirements will apply to non-pregnant, non-Medicare adults ages 19-64 who are enrolled in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion group or subject to certain Section 1115 demonstration waivers that provide minimum essential coverage to adult beneficiaries.Beneficiaries falling into these categories must demonstrate at least 80 hours per month of qualifying activities, which can include work programs, community service or at least half-time enrollment in an educational program. Individuals may combine activities to meet the mandates or earn the equivalent of 80 times the Federal hourly minimum wage ($580/month).

At and end-of-life care home, a young cancer survivor finds his calling  The Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY; by Jon Harris; 7/28/26  Seated in the chapel at Sloan Comfort Care Home, 22-year-old Evan Folsom reflected on what working at the end-of-life facility has meant to him. "The Home did come at the right time for me," said Folsom, hours after finishing an overnight shift there, and a day before taking the daylong Medical College Admission Test. Folsom survived a brain tumor as a toddler and spent years recovering. That alone shaped an interest in medicine. ... His work at Sloan Comfort Care Home helped him come to terms with certain issues and fueled his interest in studying the complex moral and ethical questions that arise in medicine. So he took a "shot in the dark" and applied to Harvard Medical School's Master of Science in Bioethics program, along with a few other schools. He got into all of them but chose Harvard because Boston holds a special full-circle meaning for him. Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, is where he received treatment as a toddler. "Harvard was specifically deep for me, because that's kind of where my journey started," he said. Folsom leaves for Boston on Aug. 1 ...

Hospice leadership in a new era of scrutinyTeleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Melissa Calkins; 7/28/26Hospice leaders are operating in a very different environment than they were even a few years ago. ...

Companies are tapping retired CEOs. Could health systems follow suit?Companies are tapping retired CEOs. Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 7/28/26 U.S. companies across industries are turning to retired CEOs to lead turnarounds, The Wall Street Journal reported July 28. Will health systems take a page out of their book? To an extent, they already have — though the practice looks different in healthcare than it does in corporate America. Most recently, Cracker Barrel appointed 69-year-old David Deno as its new CEO. Mr. Deno served as CEO of Outback Steakhouse’s parent, Bloomin’ Brands, from 2019 to 2024. The move followed similar appointments by Boeing and Verizon Communications in recent years, the Journal reported. ...

Physicians: proposed California rule threatens livelihood, providersHospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/28/26Some hospice medical directors contend that proposed emergency regulations in California represent a threat to their livelihood, as well as creating access risks for patients. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) proposed the rules in June in an effort to combat fraud. Within the 143-page document, the sticking point for physicians is a requirement that, if finalized, would limit hospice medical directors to serving only one hospice. CDPH recently held an online stakeholder meeting regarding the proposal in which several physicians called on the agency to allow medical directors to serve as many as three hospices, or to eliminate the limitation altogether for at least some doctors.

There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. YouTube; by Navacare; 6/27/26There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. Recently, I had the privilege of attending a ceremony honoring a veteran for his service to our country. During the ceremony, Grace from AccentCare Hospice sang "I Will Always Love You." It was beautiful. It was moving. And if I'm being honest, it brought a few tears to my eyes. Not only because we were honoring someone who had given so much, but because it was also my dad's favorite song. Music has a remarkable way of connecting us to people, memories, and emotions that words alone often can't reach. For many older adults, especially those living with dementia or memory loss, music can spark recognition, comfort, and moments of connection that feel truly extraordinary. [Watch the video to the end, to hear the dad's response.]

Public Policy Agenda & Toolkit National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care; Press Release; 5/4/26 The National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care’s Public Policy Agenda outlines a unified, consensus-driven set of priorities to strengthen palliative care and hospice for patients, families, and caregivers across the lifespan. Developed through collaboration among national member organizations, the agenda provides a coordinated framework to guide policy and advocacy efforts at both the national and state levels. It reflects shared priorities to improve access, advance quality and equity, support the workforce, and promote sustainable, value-based care.

Live your life as an exclamation than an explanation. ~ Isaac Newton

Nearly 500 readers shared stories of deathbed visions. Here are 10. The Washington Post; by Caitlin Gibson and Stephanie Arrigotti; 7/26/26 When we pub­lished our recent project about end-of-life dreams and vis­ions, we invited Post read­ers to share their per­sonal exper­i­ences with this phe­nomenon. ... I hoped we might col­lect a few dozen anec­dotes. To date, we’ve received about 500 sub­mis­sions and count­ing. It’s been a priv­ilege to read every one. ... The major­ity of people who wrote in — no mat­ter how they made sense of what they’d seen — described an exper­i­ence that seemed to instill a sense of calm or solace in the per­son who was dying, and in turn, brought a last­ing com­fort to their bereaved care­givers. From those hun­dreds of accounts, here is a selec­tion of 10. The fol­low­ing are drawn from writ­ten sub­mis­sions and fol­low-up inter­views, and edited for length and clar­ity.

Life’s Treasures Thrift Store plans Dade City locatioThe Laker Lutz News, Dade City, FL; Press Release; 7/26/26Chapters Health System, a nonprofit hospice organization, has leased a 10,000-square-foot retail space at 12709 U.S. 301 in Dade City to serve as a new Life’s Treasures Thrift Store location. The thrift store is moving from Zephyrhills to provide a more modernized shopping experience. The relocation is part of a strategic update of the health system’s thrift stores that benefit the charity grief and hospice services of HPH Hospice and LifePath Hospice, affiliates of Chapters Health System. The organization also recently leased a 10,000-square-foot thrift store location planned for The Villages.