Literature Review

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.

Maui Hospice calms jitters after feds freeze new Medicare sign-ups Hoodline; by Marc Suzuki; 5/20/26Hospice Maui moved quickly this week to calm worried island families after federal officials hit pause on new Medicare hospice and home health enrollments. The Wailuku nonprofit stressed that long-standing, Medicare-certified providers like itself are not the focus of the federal action, and that patients already in its care will continue to receive visits, medications and support services without interruption. The organization also pointed families to a direct phone line for anyone who wants a real person to walk them through what the freeze does and does not mean.

[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.

Varied reporting of the CMS Hospice and Home Health Moratorium

Locally owned and operated hospice center opens in downtown New Iberia, LA The Daily Iberian, New Iberia, LA; by Corey Vaughn; 5/12/26 It’s always a scary decision to leave your job and start your own business, but New Iberia native Tyler Robicheaux said it’s an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Robicheaux officially opened the doors to Foundations Hospice last year after being given the opportunity, alongside silent partners, to take his years of hospice care experience to the next level. ... One of the best parts of being the owner of his own hospice business has been implementing his vision for good care from the ground up. “You get to build it from the ground up: the good and not so good,” he said. 

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.

The Alliance responds to CMS’s announcement of nationwide enrollment moratoria on hospice and home health providers  National Alliance for Care at Home | The Alliance; Press Release; 5/13/26 On May 13, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a six-month national moratorium on hospice and home health enrollment in response to program integrity concerns within the Medicare programs. While the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) strongly supports efforts to root out bad actors who exploit these essential programs, undermine confidence in care at home, and threaten the patients and families who depend on it, the Alliance has long advocated for targeted strategies that distinguish between high-fraud markets and communities where fraud is not an identified problem and patients already face shortages of providers. 

NPHI commends CMS action to implement temporary nationwide hospice moratorium to strengthen hospice program integrity National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation | NPHI, Washington, DC; Press Release; 5/13/26 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the national voice for nonprofit hospice and advanced illness care, applauds the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) announcement of a temporary six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare hospice enrollments that will help stop fraudulent operators from exploiting the Medicare hospice benefit. NPHI was the first organization in the nation to publicly call for a temporary nationwide moratorium, formally urging CMS to take this action in a March 25, 2026 letter sent to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Deputy Administrator and COO Kim Brandt.