Literature Review

Hospice claim denial remanded to ALJ in absence of explanation, (Aug 4, 2025) VItalLaw; by Leah S. Poniatowski, JD; 8/4/25 ... A hospice provider that was denied Medicare reimbursement for two patients was granted remand to the administrative law judge (ALJ) because the ALJ’s decision was without any reasoned discussion, which impaired review and suggested that the ALJ had used her lay assessment of the medical record, the federal district court in Delaware ruled (Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care of Delaware, LLC v. Kennedy, No. 24-175-GBW-LDH (D. Del. July 31, 2025)).

Social Media Watch 8/8/25

State Medicaid coverage policies for community-based palliative care: Lessons from NASHP’s State Institute National Academy for State Health Policy; by Ella Taggart, Wendy Fox-Grage; 8/11/25 Six states recently participated in NASHP’s two-year State Policy Institute to Improve Care for People with Serious Illness (the Institute): Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. ... Specifically, the six participating states received guidance on policy mechanisms to cover palliative care services in the community and completed cost analysis on palliative care services for Medicaid beneficiaries. While all the states balanced the same forces and demands, ... each state modeled a benefit that was responsive to its particular needs and circumstances. ... CBIZ Optumas and TFA Analytics then designed a cost calculator for each state to help with different scenarios. 

Sunday newsletters focus on headlines and top read stories of the last week (in order) - enjoy!

Inmate serving life for murdering Lancaster County woman in 2015 seeks compassionate release Fox 43, Lancaster County, PA; by Keith Schweigert; 8/8/25 A state prison inmate serving a life sentence for killing a Lancaster County woman after she ended their relationship in 2015 has filed a petition asking for a compassionate release so that he can die at home, according to court records. Randall Shriner, 68, has less than six months left to live due to stage-five kidney disease, according to an emergency petition filed by his attorney on July 30. ... According to the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, the statute allows courts to grant a compassionate release under two circumstances:

[Belgium] Christian perspectives on palliative sedation: A literature studyBMC Palliative Care; Jonathan Lambaerts, Bert Broeckaert; 7/25Overall, there is a positive but cautious attitude towards palliative sedation in the four major Christian traditions. All recognise that palliative sedation can help alleviate patient suffering. They remain cautious in their support, however, as they consider the line between palliative sedation and life-ending treatments (e.g. euthanasia) to be too blurred. Moreover, the Christian traditions are aware that lowering the level of consciousness is not without its problems.

Standardized assessment of patient experience in pediatric palliative care: A national collaborationJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Ashley K Autrey, Stacey Rifkin-Zenenberg, Tracy Hills, Jennifer Salant, Rachna May, Elliot Rabinowitz, Chelsea Heneghan, Laura Drach, Emma Jones, Rachel Thienprayoon; 7/25Use of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are crucial to providing patient-centered care. In 2022, the Pediatric Palliative Improvement Network developed a project to standardize the assessment of patient experiences with PPC [pediatric palliative care] services. Results: Patients/ families felt heard and understood and would recommend PPC. Standardized assessments of patient experience with PPC are feasible and informative. PROMs can ensure that PPC services meet patient needs, identify opportunities for improvement, and demonstrate value.

Social relationships and end-of-life quality among older adults in the United States: The impacts of marital, kinship, and network ties The Journals of Gerontology; by Kafayat Mahmoud, Deborah Carr; 7/25We examine marital status differences in recent decedents’ end-of-life care and gender differences therein, and the role of other social ties (children, siblings, network members) in influencing the quality of end-of-life care. Divorced decedents fared poorly on multiple outcomes, being less likely than married or widowed persons to receive excellent care and to have personal care needs met. Divorced and widowed decedents were less likely to receive respectful treatment relative to married decedents. We found no significant gender differences in these patterns. Persons with more siblings and network members had superior pain management. Hospital patient advocates could also aid those who lack close kin at the end of life.

Black and white older adults’ end-of-life experiences: Does hospice use mitigate racial disparities? The Journals of Gerontology; by Clifford Ross, Brina Ratangee, Emily Schuler, Zheng Lian, Benmun Damul, Deborah Carr, Lucie Kalousová; 7/25Racial disparities in end-of-life care are well documented, but less is known about how these inequalities shape assessments of death quality. Proxies for Black decedents reported higher perceived death quality than those for White decedents, despite evidence of greater structural disadvantage. However, perceived care concordance was significantly lower among Black decedents. Hospice care was associated with improved perceived death quality for Black decedents but not for Whites. When accounting for socioeconomic and death experience controls, hospice care did not moderate perceived care concordance.

Issues in developing multilingual graphics-based digital caregiver guides for dementia careDiscourse, Context & Media; by Boyd H. Davis, Margaret Maclagan, Meredith Troutman-Jordan; 8/25To increase the opportunity to educate caregivers for persons with dementia, particularly the nearly 40% of migrant healthcare workers emigrating to the US, we have chosen an adaptation of graphic medicine as a means of presenting these workers with conversations about dementia care in two formats of ‘mini-comics’: photo-based and cartoon. Our graphic Caregiver Guides are a form of mediated digital discourse that incorporate both words and pictures, and thereby support caregivers as they draw immediately useful guidance from online materials when offering daily off-line care. Each guide covers a situation that occurs commonly as caregivers care for people living with dementia.

350 health groups urge Congress to extend Medicare telehealth MedCityNews; by Marissa Plescia; 8/14/25 A group of 350 organizations, including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, are urging Congress to make Medicare telehealth flexibilities introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent, or at least extend them for two years. In a letter to congressional leaders, the organizations emphasize the importance of telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries, particularly those with chronic conditions or in rural areas, and highlight the potential impact on health care access and infrastructure. Guest Editor’s Note, Judi Lund Person: Unless there is Congressional action after the August recess to extend the hospice face-to-face requirement through telehealth, that option will conclude on September 30, 2025.

Caregiver-reported barriers and facilitators to hospice enrollment for persons with dementia: A systematic review of qualitative evidencePalliative Medicine; by Oonjee Oh, Connie M Ulrich, Lauren Massimo, George Demiris; 7/25Despite the increasing prevalence of dementia, persons with dementia often receive suboptimal care near the end of life. Dementia caregivers experience intrapersonal, interpersonal, emotional, logistical, and physical challenges in ensuring quality end-of-life support for their loved one (e.g. limited understanding of end-stage dementia, gatekeeping providers, and family conflicts). The unique needs of caregivers caring for a seriously ill family member with dementia are not being fully addressed by the current available services and policies.

CU School of Medicine receives $64 million NIH award to establish palliative care research consortiumUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine press release; by Kara Mason; 8/7/25The five-year award supports CU School of Medicine faculty at the forefront of research dedicated to improving quality of life for people living with serious illnesses. The University of Colorado School of Medicine has been selected as the prime award institution for a $64 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a consortium focused on palliative care research. “While palliative care as a field has advanced significantly in the last few decades, there are still a lot of unmet needs. This consortium will serve as a springboard for filling gaps and offering resources to researchers who will ultimately improve the field,” says Jean Kutner, MD, MSPH, distinguished professor of medicine and chief academic officer of UCHealth, who will serve as a principal investigator of the Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) Consortium... The consortium includes principal investigators from the CU School of Medicine and four other academic centers across the country — New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, Duke University School of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania — and 40 key personnel from more than 20 institutions, representing the interdisciplinary approach that is integral to palliative care... The ASCENT Consortium’s creation comes at a critical juncture for palliative care research, as two vital programs — the National Institute of Nursing Research-funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative, which Kutner led at the CU School of Medicine for 13 years, and the National Palliative Care Research Center — have been expected to sunset in 2025... “We've gone from publishing observational and cross-sectional work to where we are today with demonstrating effective and innovative interventions,” Kutner says.