Literature Review

Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs: Nationwide Temporary Moratoria on enrollment of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) supplier medical supply companies Federal Register; by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; 2/27/26 Summary: This notice announces the imposition of a 6-month nationwide moratorium on the Medicare enrollment of DMEPOS supplier medical supply companies. Background: ... Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 111-148), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-152) (collectively known as the Affordable Care Act), Congress provided the Secretary with new tools and resources to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

AI in healthcare needs system-level execution, not task automation Becker's Health IT; by Aditya Bansod; 2/18/26 Healthcare is investing in AI. But most operating models haven’t changed. Health systems have long had more manual work to do than staff to perform it. Now, these health systems are rapidly adopting AI under the promise that it will take on more autonomous work and deliver outcomes at a greater scale than their previous digital initiatives. They’re piloting chatbots, deploying AI phone agents, testing predictive models, and moving clinical documentation to AI assistants. Yet in many organizations, the core operating structure remains reactive. ...

Weaving a unified fabric of care will heal the patient-provider relationship MedCity News; by Sachin K. Gupta; 2/20/26 Healthcare can transform only when strategy, workflow, data, and human connection operate together with a single purpose: strengthen the relationship at the center of care. The healthcare industry is under strain. ... At the core of these problems is the strained patient-clinician relationship. Healthcare is losing the very relationship it was built on. This is one of the prime problems that we need to solve to build a stronger healthcare industry, and AI is the instrument. ... Healthcare can transform only when strategy, workflow, data, and human connection operate together with a single purpose: strengthen the relationship at the center of care.

‘It’s a collaborative effort’: Northern Light Medical Transport paramedics providing hospice supportWABI-5, Bangor, ME; by Alyssa Thurlow; 2/19/26 ... Paramedics can help patients across Maine with a variety of needs, but some are embracing a slower-paced role, focused on assisting those who are at the end of life. “Patients have access to care 24/7, and part of that coverage for after-hours is now coming through the community paramedicine program,” said hospice educator Allie Rohrer, RN. ... “It’s not with lights and sirens. It’s very low key. It’s driving there in a car, and then it’s talking through the issues,” said paramedic Ed Moreshead. ... Northern Light’s community paramedics are contracted with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice. Families in need of assistance call the triage number, and a hospice nurse and on-call physician can respond if needed.

Why Alivia Care is getting invested in ACO models Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/19/26 The senior care provider Alivia Care is going all in on high-needs Accountable Care Organization models in 2026. This includes participation in the final year of the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (ACO REACH) model that the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is currently testing. Following that, the hospice, home health, PACE and palliative care provider plans to engage in the center’s new Long-term Enhanced ACO Design (LEAD) model. ... [Descriptions by Alivia Care CEO Susan Ponder Stansel ...]

Hospice spending, care quality scores by state Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Gregerson; 2/18/26 California and Nevada hospice providers had the lowest care-quality scores despite spending the most per beneficiary to provide care between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024, according to CMS data released Feb. 18. Rhode Island and West Virginia had the highest hospice care quality scores during the data collection period. CMS’ Hospice Quality Reporting Program includes data submitted directly by hospice providers, from Medicare hospice claims, and from the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. Here are the hospice care quality scores and per-beneficiary spending amounts by state between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024, according to CMS: ...

[England] Almost one in three people in England die without the basic care they need Medical Xpress; by King's College London, edited by Lisa Lock; 2/16/26 About 170,000 people in England every year spend their final days in pain, distress or without vital support that should be available to everyone at the end of life. These are the findings of the first major study in more than a decade to estimate unmet palliative care needs among people at the end of life. The paper was led by researchers at King's College London and Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, with contributions from the University of Edinburgh and was published in the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy.

Embedding care in the ED: Liz Goldberg and Lauren Southerland GeriPal; podcast by Alex Smith with Dr. Liz Goldberg and Dr. Lauren Southerland; 2/12/26 The idea of embedding various forms of non-emergency care in the emergency department makes a WORLD of sense.  If an older adult comes into the ED with a fall, the minimum the ED has to do is address the fall injury and send them out. But many emergency providers realize this is often a band aid.  They see that patient again the next time they fall.  And again.  And again.  The same could be said for the patient who is malnourished and dehydrated and admitted for “failure to thrive,” again. And again. Our two guests today, Liz Goldberg and Lauren Southerland, both emergency medicine physician-researchers, have had enough.  ...

'An alarm bell': Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service shutters amid turmoil for home health care Santa Fe New Mexican; Santa Fe, NM; by Margaret O'Hara; 2/16/26 A home health and hospice agency that has been serving Los Alamos and Rio Arriba counties for more than 50 years will shutter later this month, a closure agency officials attributed to decreasing revenue from patient insurance and sharply rising health care costs. Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service will halt operations Friday. The loss should serve as a warning, said Meggin Lorino, executive director of the New Mexico Association for Home and Hospice Care. The decision to shutter Los Alamos Visiting Nurses comes as rural health care providers grapple with an abundance of challenges, which range from operating on razor-thin financial margins to impending cuts to Medicaid to the added pressures of the state’s aging population.Editor's Note: This provides further information to the article we posted 2/13/26, "Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service closing its doors but other options are available to those in need."

Labor & employment lawyers, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, file suit against Sutter Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, for underpayment of employees' wages Benzinga, Sacramento, CA; by PRNewswire; 2/12/26 The Sacramento employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action complaint alleging that Sutter Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice violated the California Labor Code. The Sutter Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, a class action lawsuit, Case No. 25CV029700, is currently pending in the Sacramento County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here.

First union contract ratified for UVM hospice workers ABC22/FOX44, Burlington, VT; Press Release; 2/10/26 UVM Home Health and Hospice workers have ratified their first union contract. The vote was 72-1 to ratify the contract, more than six months after employees first voted to form a union in June. They named their union “Hospice United.” ... According to AFT Vermont, which represents 11,000 workers in healthcare and higher education, the agreement will mean a 17% increase in wages over the two and half years of the contract, and also makes accommodations for the rest of UVM Home Health potentially choosing to unionize in the future.

Senior Nannies Home Care Services joins forces with Choice Health at Home Desert Sun, EIN Presswire, Tyler, TX; Press Release; 1/30/26 Senior Nannies Home Care Services and Senior Advantages Assisted Living Placement Services (“Senior Nannies”), ... is proud to announce it has joined forces with Choice Health at Home (“Choice”), a leading multi-state operator of home health, hospice, personal care, rehabilitation, and specialty in-home services. The transaction marks Choice’s entry into the Southeastern United States, establishing Florida as a strategic anchor and creating a scaled, integrated personal care platform to support a broader regional expansion.

Community Hospice & Palliative Care unveils Advanced Cardiac Care Program Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/9/26 Florida-based Community Hospice & Palliative Care has launched an Advanced Cardiac Care Program to serve patients and families wrestling with heart disease. The hospice, an affiliate of Alivia Care, designed the program in collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation. It will provide a suite of services specifically designed for patients with cardiac conditions.