Literature Review

Providers meet with OMB to prevent ‘devastating’ effect of 80/20 provision McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 3/4/24Home care stakeholders have been busy on Capitol Hill voicing concerns about a controversial provision of the proposed Medicaid Access Rule. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice and Home Care Association of America met with the Office of Management and Budget last week to discuss the Access Rule’s so-called 80/20 provision. The provision, if finalized, would require that 80% of Medicaid payments for personal care, home health and homemaker services be spent on workers’ compensation. “If that one provision is finalized as proposed, it would be so detrimental that we’d likely lose a significant portion of our service delivery base and people would go without care,” Damon Terzaghi, NAHC’s director of Medicaid HCBS (home- and community-based services) said in an interview with McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “It would truly be devastating.”

Man’s dying wish was to see newest ‘Dune’ film. Director made it happen before release Global News, by Alessia Simona Maratta; 3/4/24 A palliative care patient’s end-of-life wish was to see the second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune before he passed. The Quebec filmmaker and his team rushed to make it happen almost two months before the film’s premiere and just days before the man died. 

Obstacles and opportunities for palliative care in the ICU Palliative Care News, by Rachel Edwards; 3/1/24A growing body of research touts the benefits of palliative care for patients, families, and even providers. However, when evaluated through randomized clinical trials, the results tend to lean toward mediocre. Palliative Care News spoke with experts in the field to unpack the reasons behind those results and identify the obstacles that are getting in the way of a more effective approach.

Colorado’s medical aid-in-dying residency requirement won’t be lifted The Colorado Sun, by Jesse Paul; 3/1/24 Out-of-state residents will continue to be prohibited from receiving medical aid in dying in Colorado after a bill aimed at loosening the regulations for terminally ill people seeking to end their lives was pared back Thursday evening. Senate Bill 68 was also changed to shrink the waiting period for people seeking medical aid in dying to seven days from 15, with the possibility to eliminate the waiting period for people who may not have 48 hours to live. 

Opinion: How death can be the chance to serve others WAtoday, by Annie Whitlock; 3/3/24 I see my death as an opportunity to serve others ... . A few years ago, I offered my corpse to the department of anatomy and physiology at the University of Melbourne. The university co-ordinates a body donor program for the purposes of anatomical examination and the precious teaching and study of anatomy to its medical students. ... To the medical students who will be learning from my body I gave the department the following letter: I give you my body. ... Learn from me this one last time. So my organs, flesh and scars tell of times and outcomes that in death I cannot utter any more. ...

Could Kansas adopt medical cannabis pilot program? Legislation in the works Kansas News, by Rebekah Chung; 3/1/24Medical marijuana advocates are crafting proposals for this session. Nexstar’s Kansas Capitol Bureau confirmed that a medical cannabis pilot program proposal is in the works. The future of marijuana reform lies in the Kansas Senate’s hands, as the House awaits action.

Change Healthcare's temporary funding program 'not even a Band-Aid,' AHA says Becker's Health IT, by Giles Bruce; 3/4/24 The American Hospital Association called Change Healthcare's temporary funding program for providers affected by the cyberattack on the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary inadequate, while a U.S. Senate leader asked CMS to speed up payments to hospitals. Change Healthcare set up the funding assistance March 1 for providers facing cash-flow issues after losing access to its payer systems, which have been down since the Feb. 21 ransomware attack. However, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack wrote in a March 4 letter to UnitedHealth Group that the program is "not even a Band-Aid on the payment problems you identify."

Contract CNA staffing associated with worse care quality outcomes: study McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 3/1/24Nursing homes that use contract staffing to fill certified nursing assistant position vacancies are more likely to experience worse care quality than those that do not, according to the results of a study by PHI. The proportion of total CNA hours filled by contract CNAs in SNFs increased from 2% in 2017 to 11% in 2022, the study found.

At Frieze LA, Gary Tyler finds resilience after prison—in each stitch of his poignant quilts ARTnews, by Steven Vargas; 2/29/24 Los Angeles–based artist Gary Tyler has been making quilts for close to 15 years but has yet to exhibit them in his hometown. This week, he will debut several of his intricate and emotionally packed pieces at Frieze Los Angeles, after having been named the winner of the fair’s Impact Prize. His quilts document the 42 years he spent in prison following a wrongful conviction of murder at age 17. His journey to receiving the prize may be unconventional, but for him, it is a reminder of the resilience of an artist.Publisher's note: This article features another quilter from the Angola Prison Hospice Project.

Change Healthcare outage: AHA slams UnitedHealth funding program Modern Healthcare - Cybersecurity, by Lauren Berryman; 3/4/2024The American Hospital Association slammed UnitedHealth Group's offer of financial assistance for some healthcare providers in the wake of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare and called on Congress for assistance. AHA President and CEO Richard Pollack said Change Healthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group's temporary loan program misses the mark in a letter sent Monday to UnitedHealth Group President and Chief Operating Officer Dirk McMahon. Pollack criticized the initiative for what he described as its limited eligibility criteria and unfair contract terms and conditions.

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

How will Kentucky's medical marijuana program be regulated? Here's where things stand Louisville Courier Journal, by Olivia Evans; 3/4/24The Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program — which regulates the legal cultivation, production, sale and use of medical marijuana products — is set to officially start Jan. 1, 2025. ... In early January, Gov. Beshear's administration filed its first set of 10 regulations governing the industry and providing a framework for how businesses will operate. ... The 10 regulations focus on cultivators, processors, producers, safety compliance facilities, dispensaries and more. ... According to the website for the state medical cannabis program, the cabinet is in the process of developing additional regulations.

Hospice of the Chesapeake appoints new CEOThe Southern Maryland Chronicle, by David M. Higgins II; 3/1/24Rebecca Miller has been appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hospice of the Chesapeake, a prominent not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing end-of-life care.