Literature Review

MedPAC Report addresses hospital rate increases, new safety net funding, site-neutral payments Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA); Press Release; 3/24/25 In its March 2025 Report to the Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended increasing the 2026 hospital Medicare payment rate by the amount reflected in the current law (projected to be 2.5%) plus 1%, redistributing disproportionate share hospital (DSH) and uncompensated care (UC) payments to hospitals through a new Medicare Safety-Net Index (MSNI), and increasing the MSNI pool by $4 billion. ... The March 2025 report also included payment update recommendations for physicians and other health professional services, outpatient dialysis facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and hospice providers.  [Continue reading ...]

No one can grow if he does not accept his smallness.  ~ Pope Francis

Calvary Hospital doubles down on palliative care and hospice expansion Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 3/24/25 Michael Fosina began serving as president of Calvary Hospital in New York City in January, bringing decades of healthcare experience to the role. ... Mr. Forsina told Becker’s he’s excited about Calvary’s mission as the organization celebrates its 125th anniversary. Recently, the hospital integrated services with its parent organization, ArchCare, the healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. Mr. Fosina shared his perspective on Calvary’s role in New York and its future in meeting patient needs. ... [Michael Fosina described:] "ArchCare has all of the components of post-acute care when you include our end-of-life hospital and our hospice program. The integration allows us to accept patients, move patients around, have them stay connected with the physician — the team physician. So the transitions of care are not as dramatic as if you’re going from one organization to the next organization." [Continue reading ...]

Pope Francis was so close to death that doctors considered ending treatment Reuters, Vatican City; by Joshua McElwee; 3/25/25 Pope Francis came so close to death at one point during his 38-day fight in hospital against pneumonia that his doctors considered ending treatment so he could die in peace, the head of the pope's medical team said. After a breathing crisis on February 28 ... "there was a real risk he might not make it," said Sergio Alfieri, a physician at Rome's Gemelli hospital. "We had to choose if we would stop there and let him go, or to go forward and push it with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the highest risk of damaging his other organs," Alfieri told Italy's Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday [3/25]. "In the end, we took this path," he said. [Continue reading ...]

The COVID mistake no one talks enough about The Atlantic; by Sunita Puri; 3/25/25 Deaths in isolation have been treated as a painful memory, not as a problem that hospitals need to address. He was one of the few ICU patients whose face I saw in early 2021, when COVID raged through Los Angeles. As a palliative-care physician, my job was to meet, over Zoom, with the families of intubated patients to ensure that they had complete medical updates and to help them make difficult medical decisions on behalf of their loved one, particularly when that person faced death. But in a surreal departure from my usual practice, I’d never once seen these patients myself: At the time, to minimize exposure to COVID, the only people permitted to enter the ICU regularly were members of the ICU team. ... His wife told me that during his many previous illnesses, she had slept every night in his hospital room, making sure he asked for pain medications and watching movies with him to pass the time. “He fought harder to live when I was there,” she told me. [Continue reading ... full access may require a free trial or subscription]

Executive producer Bradley Cooper's film Caregiving to premiere on PBS for nationwide broadcast June 24, streaming begins May 27ABC WHTM-27, Harrisburg, PA; 3/20/25 PBS and WETA Washington, DC, today announced that Caregiving, the documentary created with executive producer Bradley Cooper highlighting the challenges and triumphs of caregiving in America, will premiere Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), and on the PBS YouTube Channel. Caregiving will be available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS App beginning Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba (The Residence, Painkiller, Orange is the New Black) was also announced as the film's narrator, bringing her own experience as a caregiver for her mother to the project. The two-hour documentary is centered on the personal experiences of caregivers providing for loved ones, and the challenges and triumph they face each day. These stories are interwoven with the broader context of the cultural and economic conditions in the U.S., leading to a care system tipping into crisis. [Continue reading ... including "Bradley Cooper Invites the Public to Share Their Caregiving Story]

Hospice House plans to add a new home near Covington Nola.com, New Orleans, LA; by Jessica Saggio; 3/24/25 Mardi Gras may be over, but the Hospice Foundation of the South is rolling. The organization, known for its compassionate end-of-life care, has acquired a piece of land near Convington for a second Hospice House. Plans to fund its construction are underway with a new capital campaign. The effort, once stalled because of a difficult housing market, is back in action after a lot on Lee Road north of Covington was purchased with the help of an anonymous donor. ... Currently, there is one Hospice House in the parish, located near Slidell. The home, which is an oasis for those in their final days of life, provides care to patients free of charge. The only issue is the supply is not nearly big enough for the demand. 

Lancaster woman convicted in hospice fraud schemeNBC-4 News, Los Angeles, CA; by City News Service; 3/21/25 A Lancaster [California] woman was found guilty Friday of receiving more than $330,000 in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals to two hospice companies in a fraud scheme that bilked Medicare out of more than $3.2 million through claims for medically unnecessary services. Callie Jean Black, 66, was convicted at the conclusion of a four-day bench trial in Los Angeles federal court of four counts of soliciting and receiving remunerations for patient referrals, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. scheduled sentencing for July 25. [Continue reading ...] 

Carolyn Hax: Does sibling love justify traveling to abusive mom’s deathbed?The Washington Post, Washington, DC; 3/24/25 Sister asks the letter writer to join her at their dying mom’s bedside — despite their PTSD-inducing childhoods. [The rest of this article may require a subscription to The Washington Post.]Editor's note: Even if you're not able to access the full article, what does this question stir in you? Be aware that many family caregivers (or simply family members) face complex, conflicted relationships with the persons they are tending--or in this case, even considering visiting or not. Be attuned to these common, everyday occurrences that your direct care interdisciplinary team members regularly navigate. What family systems' education and support do you provide for them?

'They mourn just like you and me': Local nonprofit cares for animals of terminally ill owners The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO; by Kelly Hayes; 3/22/25 The car ride back to the home of Randy and Linda Gearhart was near silent that February day. The husband and wife from Colorado Springs had just picked up 12-year-old Kimi, a tan, medium-sized dog, and 11-year-old Sage, a slightly larger kelpie mix. ... Sitting in the trunk of the car was all the pups had known: several cushions, their bowls, plenty of toys and a heap of blankets. But there was something — or rather, someone — missing. Their owner, who died recently. “I didn’t wash these until last week,” Linda said, pointing to their cushions. “I think having the smells, having their same beds, that familiarity, was good for them.” For nearly three decades, Safe Place for Pets has served as a new home for animals of terminally ill owners in Colorado Springs. With the help of about 50 volunteers, two part-time employees and a handful of fosters such as the Gearharts, the nonprofit shoulders a heavy responsibility: caring for beloved pets after their person dies. [Continue reading this heart-warming story ...]

Bringing palliative care to every patient with cancer: A conversation with Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO The ASCO Post, in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology; by Jo Cavallo; 3/25/25 Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO, ... has become a widely recognized leader in the field of supportive care and palliative medicine, serving for nearly a decade on the leadership team of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and helping to craft the first Hospice and Palliative Medicine certifying examination offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine. ... In a wide-ranging interview with The ASCO Post, Dr. Abrahm discussed the importance of providing every patient with cancer access to palliative medicine throughout survivorship, how oncologists can become more effective communicators, and strategies to alleviate patients’ suffering at the end of life.

Mt. Hood Hospice to present third Grief Made Visible art exhibit in April Sandy Post, West Linn, OR; by Brit Allen; 3/23/25 Aside from in-home hospice services, Mt. Hood Hospice offers numerous other resources to the community, regardless of income or if they have any other ties to the organization. Among them are grief support groups that utilize art as a tool of healing. As a result of these groups, 16 artists will have the art that they created in these groups on display at AntFarm Café & Bakery, 39140 Proctor Blvd., throughout the month of April, from April 3-30, while the cafe is open. ... “This art show creates a space that normalizes talking about mental health and grief,” said Mt. Hood Hospice Bereavement Services Director Laura Lirette. “In a culture where grief is often experienced alone and behind closed doors, our hope is that this exhibit will invite conversations about grief and supporting grievers.”

National Alliance’s Scott Levy: Hospices need ‘regulatory relief’ to protect ‘sacred benefit’ Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 3/21/25 The hospice industry is undergoing a transformative period of rising demand and regulatory changes. Providers of all sizes and types are facing mounting operational challenges and financial strains with limited recourse to voice their collective concerns to legislators. This is according to Scott Levy, chief government affairs officer at National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance). Levy stepped into the role earlier this year after holding a similar position at Amedisys. He has been involved in government relations, public policy, advocacy and law for more than 20 years. Levy recently sat down with Hospice News to discuss the array of regulatory and legislative evolutions on the horizon in hospice care delivery.  .[Continue reading ...]