Literature Review

CMS enrollment moratoria: CHOW implications for home health and hospice transactions JD Supra; by Arnall Golden Gregory LLP; 5/22/26 ... Although the announcement has significant implications for new HHA and hospice entrants, the practical impact on change of ownership (“CHOW”) transactions is narrower: the moratoria should affect only those CHOWs that are treated as new initial enrollment under the Medicare “36-month rule.” ...Key Takeaways

Dying for a change: understanding compassionate release policies in the United States ehospice; by Shivani Kaushki, PhD, MSSW; 5/25/26 As the United States prison population continues to age, the question of how society supports incarcerated individuals at the end of life has become increasingly urgent. ... Conducting a systematic review utilizing rigorous PRISMA guidelines, this study analyzed decades of research examining U.S. compassionate release policies, programs intended to allow terminally ill or severely debilitated individuals to spend their final days in the community instead of a correctional facility.

Public Notice: Nine compete to develop hospice home care office in McDowell County North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; 5/11/26 Nine applicants have filed certificate of need applications with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to develop a hospice home care office in response to a need determination in the 2026 State Medical Facilities Plan (SMFP). Each applicant proposes one project.

Van Duyne introduces the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act to enact Mandatory oversight requirements to combat hospice and home healthcare fraud Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, Washington, DC; Press Release; 5/19/26 ... Since 2023, Rep. Van Duyne (TX-24) has been a recognized leader on the issue of exposing and stopping hospice and home healthcare fraud. ... This week, Rep. Van Duyne introduced new legislation, the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act, to strengthen Medicare oversight, crack down on bad actors, protect seniors from fraudulent enrollments, and improve accountability across the hospice and home health system. ...Summary and Key Provisions: This legislation is a targeted Medicare program integrity package focused on cracking down on hospice and home health fraud while protecting legitimate providers and patient access. The bill is designed to move Medicare oversight from a reactive model to a proactive one by identifying bad actors earlier, particularly in geographic hotspots where provider growth far exceeds patient growth. It targets providers with aberrant billing, discharge, enrollment, or low-quality reporting patterns rather than imposing blanket burdens across the industry. [Continue reading]

What misconceptions do people have about hospice care What's Next? - Buffalo*Toronto Public Media | PBS; by Kelley Clem; 5/20/26Many people associate hospice care with the final days of life, but healthcare advocates say there are still major misconceptions surrounding both hospice and palliative care. On this episode of What’s Next?, Kelley Clem of Hospice Buffalo and Palliative Care Buffalo explains the differences between the two forms of care and why early intervention can improve quality of life for patients living with chronic illness. She also discusses how palliative care helps manage symptoms at any stage of illness, while hospice focuses on comfort and support during the final months of life, including emotional and spiritual care for families.

Official Federal Register document with "Announcement of Nationwide Temporary Moratorium on Enrollment of Hospices" Federal Register National Archives; 5/14/26 [On Thursday, 5/14/26,] This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 2026-05-15 and available online at https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-09718, and on https://govinfo.gov.

Varied reporting of the CMS Hospice and Home Health Moratorium

Trinity Homes sees home health, hospice transition Minot Daily News, Minot, ND; by MDN Staff; 5/21/26 Trinity Health has announced it has contracted with CHI Health at Home and Hospice and CaringEdge to provide hospice services to residents at Trinity Homes. Both are established Minot-area providers. Ensuring continuity of care has been the top priority throughout this transition, according to Trinity, which has worked closely with CHI Health at Home and Hospice and CaringEdge to facilitate a smooth transition for patients and their families. The transition of patients is complete, Trinity reported.

Background on CMS’s anti-fraud efforts in hospice careAEI - The American Enterprise Institute; by James C. Capretta; 5/21/26 ... For broader context, Congress added hospice coverage to Medicare in the 1980s to provide lower-cost and more patient-centered settings for terminally ill beneficiaries. ... Like home health, the hospice benefit is vulnerable to abuse because the barriers to entering the market are lower than in more regulated settings. The capital investment to get started is minimal in comparison with building a new hospital, outpatient clinic, or nursing home. Further, the potential profit margins are high if a service provider is confident that the per diem is above what is needed to provide the required services.Although CMS’s focus on fraud in hospice care is warranted, stronger oversight by itself may not produce large program savings. In theory, more use of hospice care could lead to lower overall costs if the sponsoring agencies are competent and can help their patients avoid costly hospital or nursing home admissions. CMS’s investigations need to be subtle enough to weed out the bad actors without making it overly difficult for vulnerable patients to get the care they need in their own homes or in other low-cost community settings.

[New Zealand] Hospices turning away dying patients as funding shortfall bites Europe Says | New Zealand; 5/16/26 Hospices across New Zealand are being forced to turn away dying patients as they struggle to cope with rising costs and insufficient government funding. There are 32 hospices nationwide providing palliative care, but the sector says it needs an additional $80 million to $100 million a year from the Government to remain financially sustainable. 

Compassus-Providence JV to move forward in Oregon Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/18/26 The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has cleared the way for a Compassus-Providence Health System joint venture to operate in the state. The home-based care provider Compassus has established a joint venture with the health system Providence in 2024 and expanded it last year. However, in Oregon the state agency must review all such transactions. ... The conditions are intended to ensure the proposed transaction serves the public interest by expanding access to home health and hospice services in medically underserved communities, according to OHA.

CMS leader explains hospice fraud, Medicare risks, and the future of healthcare | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Kim Brandt; 5/13/26 In this compelling first installment, CMS Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt joins Chris Comeaux for a candid conversation about the growing hospice fraud crisis, the financial future of Medicare, and the urgent transformation happening across American healthcare. Drawing from her leadership role at CMS and firsthand experiences with hospice care in her own family, Brandt shares why hospice remains a critical pillar of compassionate care — while also exposing the alarming abuse threatening the integrity of the system.

Trends in preferred place of death among patients with bladder cancer in the United States, 2000 to 2020Palliative & Supportive Care; by Manas Pustake, Atharva Railkar, Mohammad Arfat Ganiyani, Atulya Aman Khosla, Avi Harisingani, Hanzala Jehangir, Mostafa Eysha, Divya Samat, Taha Hassan, Rohan Garje; 4/26Understanding trends in end-of-life care for bladder cancer patients is essential in improving palliative care planning. This study analyzes trends in preferred place of death among bladder cancer patients in the United States from year 2000 to 2020. Black individuals had significantly lower odds of hospice use than White patients ... and hospice use increased annually by an average of 13.4% ...  Interestingly, younger individuals were more likely to die in hospice compared to those aged 85 years or older, though the odds decreased with age. The results indicate that utilization of hospice care and home-based end-of-life care have risen in prominence though disparities are present across racial and regional groups.