Literature Review

What’s changed in hospice in 2024?Managed Healthcare Executive; By Deborah Abrams Kaplan; 8/5/24Hospice use continues to grow as more older people have serious diseases, leading to the need for more palliative care. At the same time, CMS is adapting and trying new models to measure and improve quality and pay for services. The federal government spent $23.7 billion on hospice care in 2022, according to the latest Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report, with at least 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries receiving service. This includes nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries who died that year. Here’s what to expect over the next year. [Summarized]

Without passion, you won’t do something 100%. That’s the bottom line. ~Apolo Ohno, American speed skater and eight-time medalist

Hospice advocate Judi Lund Person ... featured on Close Up Radio Western Slope Now, Ashburn, VA; by EIN Presswire; 7/26/24 (article) and 7/29/24 (recording)... Talking about where you’d like to be, who you’d like to be, and what you’d like to do is essential to entering this life-stage with confidence and grace. As the former Vice President of Regulatory and Compliance at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and a longtime advocate for hospice services under Medicare, Judi Lund Person has been working hard for more than 40 years to protect the definition of hospice care and to provide resources and guides for hospice providers to meet the Medicare requirements and provide high quality hospice care. ... Her passion for supporting patients and families during and after death began as a child. “When I was 12, my dad had a heart attack at night and passed when he was only 42. With two younger sisters, ages eight and ten, I was stunned that no one seemed to know what to do with us concerning our grief as children. We were left to try and figure it out on our own. I always thought that wasn’t quite right. Deep down, that experience was a driver for my career. I always knew families deserved more support during the grieving process,” shares Ms. Person. Editor's Note: Click here for the session's description. Click here for the recording. 

No prison for nursing home owner who botched Hurricane Ida evacuation, leading to 7 resident deathsMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Josh Henreckson;7/23/24Bob Dean has been sentenced to three years of probation and must pay more than $1.3 million in restitution and penalties for his role in the disastrous emergency evacuation of nearly 850 residents from his seven Louisiana nursing homes during Hurricane Ida. The 2021 emergency evacuation to a warehouse Dean owned near New Orleans left the residents of his nursing homes in a state of overcrowding and neglect. Seven died within days of the storm — with hundreds more rescued by state officials. Dean pleaded no contest to 15 state criminal charges, including multiple counts each of cruelty to the infirmed, obstruction of justice and Medicaid fraud.

Healthcare providers wary CMS dementia pilot will not cover costsModern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook;7/23/24Hospitals, primary care practices and other healthcare providers are split over whether Medicare will pay them enough to cover dementia patients at home as part of a new pilot. Nearly 100 providers began enrolling patients July 1 in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience model, known as GUIDE. Another 300 others will begin enrolling patients in the program on July 1, 2025. Some participants that previously provided comprehensive wrap-around services for dementia patients at home said getting a monthly care management payment for each fee-for-service beneficiary will cover costs they had been absorbing. But others aren’t sure the reimbursement will be enough to scale up programs or cover the cost of care for these complex patients.

End-of-life decisions are difficult and distressing. Could AI help?MIT Technology Review; by Jessica Hamzelouarchive;8/1/24Ethicists say a “digital psychological twin” could help doctors and family members make decisions for people who can’t speak themselves. End-of-life decisions can be extremely upsetting for surrogates, the people who have to make those calls on behalf of another person, says David Wendler, a bioethicist at the US National Institutes of Health. Wendler and his colleagues have been working on an idea for something that could make things easier: an artificial-intelligence-based tool that can help surrogates predict what patients themselves would want in any given situation. The tool hasn’t been built yet. But Wendler plans to train it on a person’s own medical data, personal messages, and social media posts. He hopes it could not only be more accurate at working out what the patient would want, but also alleviate the stress and emotional burden of difficult decision-making for family members.

Oak Ridge Boys speak out about longtime member Joe Bonsall's death. See what they saidNashville Tennessean; by Audrey Gibbs; 7/11/24Earlier this week, Oak Ridge Boys member and tenor vocalist Joe Bonsall died at 76 years old due to complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis... We would also like to thank the amazing people with Alive Hospice and encourage donations...

Owner of home health care company convicted of multimillion dollar health care fraud schemeDOJ press release; 7/22/24[Boston] Faith Newton, 56, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of health care fraud, and three counts of money laundering. The jury found the defendant not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy... “Newton orchestrated a massive $100 million health care fraud scheme that targeted the Medicaid program, funding her lavish lifestyle at the expense of the American taxpayers,” said Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Today’s guilty verdict underscores the commitment of HHS-OIG and our partners to protecting the integrity of our federal health care system, and it should also serve as a stern warning to criminals who contemplate engaging in similar illegal schemes.”

Merger will take advocacy efforts to new heights, NAHC, NHPCO leaders sayMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 8/1/24The merging of two major trade associations is a key step forward for home care and hospice advocacy efforts, according to leaders of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization... The [NAHC-NHPCO] Alliance also provided an update on its CEO search. The organizations have previously stated that neither Dombi nor Ben Marcantonio, CEO of NHPCO, will be eligible to lead the merged organization. Instead, CEO candidates have come from a variety of backgrounds, including healthcare policy and advocacy, consulting and lobbying, government agencies and regulated entities, according to Melinda Gruber, vice chair of the Alliance’s transition board of directors. “We’ve had a large number of candidates and interest,” Gruber said Wednesday. “We are nearing the finalist selection phase … and we cannot wait to make an announcement after that.” Finally, NAHC and NHPCO disclosed that “The NAHC-NHPCO Alliance,” the associations’ current moniker, will likely not be the name it uses as a fully merged organization. “Trademark hurdles” have delayed the announcement of its official new name, but it is anticipated to be revealed soon, according to Ken Albert, chair of the transition board.

Home health sees spending, utilization decline as hospice equivalents grow, MedPAC reportsMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 7/19/24Though hospice spending and utilization appear to be on the rise, Medicare spending on home health has fallen amid declining utilization in recent years, according to a new report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. In 2022, the year of the most recent available data, Medicare home health spending shrank to $16.4 billion. That compares to $17 billion the year prior, the report found. Meanwhile, the number of home health users declined by 6.3% from 2021, and the overall share of Medicare beneficiaries that use home health shrank by 3% from the year prior. The total number of in-person home health visits decreased by 9.6% year-over-year in 2022... Meanwhile, the hospice industry has experienced both reimbursement and utilization gains in recent years, MedPAC reported. Medicare hospice payments rose 2.7% year-over-year in 2022, while the number of beneficiaries using hospice services ticked up by 0.4%. These patients are also receiving more care; the total number of hospice days provided to beneficiaries increased by 2% in 2022.

‘Sharpen your game:’ Dombi tells hospices to step up in face of stricter government oversight McKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 7/22/24The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has hospice on its radar, and providers’ best safeguard against unwanted attention is to take oversight measures into their own hands, according to William Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “Sharpen your game before somebody knocks on your door,” Dombi said Monday during a press conference at the 2024 NAHC Financial Management Conference in Las Vegas. He recommended that hospice providers look internally to identify problems that could raise regulators’ alarms. An independent audit, he noted, could be helpful for spotting potential noncompliance... He later noted, “Hospices believe they’re compliant when they’re probably not.”

Florida Blue Boosts Local Bereavement Support with DonationAvow Hospice press release; 7/18/24In May 2024, Florida Blue Foundation announced a $20,000 grant in support of Avow’s bereavement programs, which are available at no cost to individuals of all ages. With this grant, Avow is able to pursue its mission of providing compassionate care through life’s hardest transitions. Florida Blue awarded this grant on the basis of promoting mental well-being for all individuals, one of the foundation’s strategic pillars, as grief counseling is essential for maintaining and advancing the mental well-being of individuals and families.

How the Hospice CARE Act could change respite services Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/1/24 The Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act, if enacted, would make changes to the ways hospices provide respite care. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is in the process of drafting the bill that would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight. The legislation is currently in a discussion draft phase, which has been circulated among the nation’s major industry trade associations and their members for feedback. ... “There’s evidence that people who take advantage of hospice care delivered properly, actually have a higher quality of life. Oftentimes, they live longer,” Blumenauer said at Elevate. “This is an opportunity to do something in this Congress that is concrete, specific, that will save money and improve the quality of care for some of our most vulnerable people.”