Literature Review

Struggling rural Nebraska hospitals find 'lifeline' in emergency model Lincoln Journal Star, Lincoln, NE; by Julie Anderson; 1/31/26 ... In Garden County, which spans 2,000 square miles in Nebraska's eastern Panhandle and numbers about 2,000 residents, the stream of patients coming into the hospital side of Garden County Health Services in Oshkosh had dwindled to a trickle in recent years. According to a recent count, inpatient admissions at the hospital averaged .07 per day and daily swing bed admissions averaged .05. "They can be few and far between," said Sam Pennington, Garden County's CEO. ... Pennington said hospice care was another concern of residents, so he also plans to try to arrange that under some available options. 

CAPC tools and events to help address disparities and improve outcomes Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC); email and webpage; 2/2/26 February 2026 marks 100 years of Black History Month. As we reflect on a century of honoring the history and contributions of Black Americans, CAPC’s Project Equity initiative focuses on turning that reflection into action by providing practical tools, innovative practices, and training to help palliative care teams effectively advance health equity for patients living with serious illness. 

[Worldwide] End-of-life care statistics by care, conditions and illness (2026) Market.us Media; by Samruddhi Yardi; 2/2/26 Each year, an estimated 56.8 million people, including 25.7 million in the last year of life, are in need of palliative care. Worldwide, only about 14% of people who need palliative care currently receive it. ... As society continues to grapple with evolving views on life and death, the commitment to compassionate, personalized, and respectful end-of-life care remains paramount. Embracing this philosophy ensures that every individual is allowed a dignified and meaningful conclusion to their life’s journey.

Los Angeles County hospice industry under scrutiny for suspected Medicare fraud Santa Monica Observer, Santa Monica, CA; by Chet McSnark; 2/1/26 With 2,000 hospice agencies, Los Angeles County has more than 36 states combined and 30x more than Florida and New York. ... Recent reports indicate that the county accounts for approximately 18% of the nation's total Medicare billing for these services, despite representing only about 2.5% of the U.S. population. According to statements from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz ... has estimated that fraudulent activity in Los Angeles County hospice and home health care could amount to roughly $3.5 billion annually. Federal data shows the county hosts nearly 1,923 hospice providers, a number that exceeds the total in many other states combined.

Drivers of disease-specific end-of-life disparities Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/30/26 ... Racial and ethnic disparities persist among underserved patient populations with dementia, who have a stronger likelihood of dying without awareness or access to hospice, recent research has found. Clinicians may play a vital role in moving the needle forward. Nearly 260, 000 Black, Hispanic and white Medicare decedents with dementia-related conditions were recently examined in a new study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum.  Editor's Note: We posted this study in our Saturday Research newsletter, 12/27/25, End-of-life care for older adults with dementia by race and ethnicity and physicians’ role. This article gives more practical descriptions and applications for its results.

Concurrent care and equity: Addressing palliative care gaps for African American men in rural communities with a serious respiratory illnessAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine; by Cathy L. Campbell; 12/25Hospice and palliative care are often hard to access for African Americans (AA) living in rural areas with serious respiratory illnesses. Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, patients must stop curative or life-sustaining treatments for their terminal illness, which limits options for concurrent care. This is a major challenge for AA men, whose average life expectancy is 67.8 years—about 10 years shorter than the national average. They also experience more care transitions in the last 6 months of life compared to White and Hispanic patients. These frequent transitions show how fragmented the health system is and how it often fails AA families. Using intersectionality and a vignette, this paper explores how overlapping factors—lived experience as AA man, rural location, and serious illness—affect access to palliative care.

Hospice telehealth once again endangered as federal shutdown looms  Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 1/28/26 The prospect of another government shutdown could result in the expiration of COVID-era telehealth flexibilities. The government experienced a lengthy shutdown in November 2025, which ended with the passing of the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2026. That bill not only funded the government through Jan. 30, but it also extended the telehealth flexibilities to that date. Now, a further extension sits in limbo as congressional lawmakers spar along partisan lines. If a new shutdown occurs, it would likely be partial, according to Logan Hoover, vice president of policy and government relations for the National Alliance for Care at Home.

California revokes 280 hospice licenses in fraud fight; Congressional hearing set Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/28/26 California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has provided an update on how the state is tackling fraudulent activity in the hospice space amid rising federal concerns. More than 280 licenses have been revoked among new hospice operators entering the state during the last two years, the governor reported on Tuesday. ... CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and other agency officials visited hospices in California and Nevada earlier this month, pledging greater efforts to combat fraud.

Protecting patients at the end of life: Why CON still matters / part one, with Tim Rogers and Paul A. Ledford Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast/video hosted by Chris Comeaux with Time Rogers and Paul A. Ledford; 1/28/26 Certificate of Need (CON) laws remain one of the most debated—and misunderstood—regulatory frameworks in healthcare.  In this in-depth conversation, Chris Comeaux is joined by two of the nation’s most respected Hospice association leaders: Paul A. Ledford, President & CEO of the Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association, and Tim Rogers, President & CEO of the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina.

Remembering the Holocaust with little-known story about a Jewish refugee and Cicely Saunders: Honoring the International Holocaust Remembrance Day - 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

[United Kingdom] Hospice to support additional 1,000 patients BBC News; by Greig Watson; 1/25/26 A service to look after terminally ill people is to be expanded across much of Nottinghamshire after a new contract was awarded. Newark-based Beaumond House Hospice Care will lead on the creation of a new End of Life Referral Hub and make its Hospice at Home service available across Newark, Sherwood, Mansfield, Ashfield and Bassetlaw. The service is currently provided to about 200 patients across Newark and Sherwood but from April 2026 it will care for an additional 1,000 patients a year in their place of choice. ... Macmillan Cancer Support's End-of-Life Care Fund is providing the £1.8m of funding to support the expansion.Editor's Note: Recent hospice coverage from the United Kingdom has largely focused on service reductions. This announcement offers welcome news, signaling expanded access to end-of-life care for more patients. We hope this growth is accompanied by continued commitment to high-quality, person-centered care for patients and families.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day theme suggestions 2026 World Hospice and Palliative Care Association (WHPCA); 1/26/26 World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) is celebrated and marked each year on the second Saturday of October. [This] year, it will be on 10 October 2026. Each year, the WHPCA team gives a lot of thought to the theme, which is used the world over to advocate for better palliative care services for people living with palliative care needs. The WHPCA invites you to share suggestions for the theme for the coming year, 2026. ... If your suggestion is selected, we can share your name and picture on our digital platforms, giving you a shout-out for your brilliant contribution.

Advance care planning in patients nearing the end of life: A pre-intervention study of racial disparities and provider factors Journal of General Internal Medicine | Springer; by Vedha Penmetcha BA, Mia Marcotte BA, Yashaswani Chauhan MD, Malathi Srinivasan MD, Adrian M. Bacong PhD, Amelia Sattler MD; 1/19/26 The pre-intervention study of Advance Care Planning (ACP) in patients nearing the end of life highlighted significant racial disparities and the impact of provider factors on ACP documentation. The study found that Asian patients were least likely to have ACP documentation in their charts, and minorities who had ACP conversations were less likely to have documentation. This suggests that ACP conversations are often not documented in the electronic health records of these patients, indicating a need for targeted interventions to improve ACP documentation rates. The study also revealed that providers may struggle to identify who and when to engage in ACP conversations, which can be a barrier to effective ACP.