Literature Review

The Alliance champions community-based solutions at Senate palliative care briefing National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 6/4/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) played a lead role in [Wednesday's] Senate Comprehensive Care Caucus briefing, which focused on expanding access to palliative care services for patients with serious illness. The bipartisan event, hosted by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Deb Fischer (R-NE), underscored the need for innovative models that deliver person-centered care in the home and community. Hillary Loeffler, Vice President of Policy & Regulatory Affairs for the Alliance, moderated the panel discussion, guiding thoughtful conversation on access, workforce, and innovation in care delivery. 

TCN/HPC Today: Storm clouds on the horizon for reimbursement - Top news stories, May 2025 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner, 6/4/25 What happens when artificial intelligence meets end-of-life care?  How do we reconcile private equity's profit motives with hospice's mission-driven ethos?  These questions took center stage in this month's roundup of hospice news with host Chris Comeaux and guest Cordt Kassner. The May edition of TCNtalks' top news stories reveals a healthcare sector at a fascinating crossroads.  AI has emerged as both a tantalizing promise and a practical challenge for hospice providers.  ... In this episode of TCN Talks, hosts Chris Comeaux and Cord Kassner reflect on Memorial Day and discuss significant news stories from May, including the complexities of thanking veterans for their service, the role of artificial intelligence in hospice care, and the importance of honest conversations about racism in healthcare.Editor's note: This monthly podcast combines quantitative data and qualitative discussion from articles gleaned from the 400+ posts we provide each month. Do you seek to make sense of it all? Tune in and learn. We welcome your feedback via our newsletter's Contact page. 

Missoula community celebrates opening of Hope Hospice Center NBC-KULR, NonStop Local Billings, MT / Missoula, MT; by Taylor Richardson; 6/3/25 The Hope Hospice Center celebrated its opening with a ceremony in Missoula, marking a significant milestone for elder care in Western Montana. The new facility will provide critical end-of-life care for people across the region. The state-of-the-art center spans 15,200 square feet and offers 24-hour end-of-life services. It includes 12 private patient rooms, spaces for family visits, and areas for religious and cultural practices. Amanda Yeoman Melro, Executive Director of Partners Hope Foundation, expressed her excitement about the center. "I think it has exceeded our wildest dreams of what a hospice center could possibly be," she said. The facility was made possible through community fundraising efforts led by the Partners Hope Foundation, which raised more than $15 million. 

CMS’s Hospice Star Rating System limited by missing data Health Affairs; by Amanda C. Chen and David C. Grabowski; 6/3/25 Two-thirds of US hospices were not given a star rating when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced its hospice star rating system in 2022. Since then, the share of hospices without a star rating has steadily increased, including through the most recent reporting period of 2024. This suggests that the CMS hospice star rating is having limited impact. We provide recommendations for CMS and other policy makers to improve the value for hospice patients of publicly reported star ratings.

HOPE Tool Anxiety: What are we forgetting in the rush to prepare?Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Melissa Calkins and Ashley Espy; 5/30/25 Panic is in the air.  With the HOPE assessment tool set to replace HIS, hospice teams are racing to prepare—scrubbing workflows, updating systems, and trying to wrap their heads around new clinical documentation demands.  But amid the rush, it's easy to overlook critical gaps: non-clinical staff being left out of planning, unclear timelines, poor communication, or the complete absence of a project lead.  HOPE isn't just about compliance—it's about execution. If we don't step back and ask what's missing, we risk rolling out a system that nobody is truly ready for.Steps to Operationalize the HOPE Tool:

SpiriTrust Lutheran says Home Care & Hospice operations will wind down across three counties, end service on July 18th Tri-State Alert, Chambersburg, PA; Press Release; 5/29/25 Earlier on Thursday [5/29], News Talk 1037FM was alerted to a WARN notice from SpiriTrust Lutheran as to a closure of a portion of their business. Throughout the process, that notice has been narrowed down to their Home Care & Hospice (HCH), with the company announcing their plans to discontinue operations out of their Franklin County office which serves clients in Franklin, Adams and York counties. The official closure will be July 18, 2025. ... SpiriTrust Lutheran says that roughly 65 home care and hospice employees will be affected by the shutting, but  some are expected to be reassigned or offered positions within the SpiriTrust Lutheran family of Life Plan Communities ... SpiriTrust Lutheran officials cited the organization’s ongoing challenges mirrored those confronting many similar organizations nationwide – significant increases in the cost of delivering care due to staffing shortages; rising benefit expenses; and the escalating prices for medical supplies and pharmacy. 

Empath Health to sell service center location Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/29/25  The Florida-based senior care provider Empath Health is selling one of its administrative service centers, located in Pinellas County in its home state. The center was initially established by Suncoast Hospice, which is now an Empath Health affiliate. The sale is part of Empath’s effort to “realign its physical footprint” to invent more directly in home-based, patient-centered care, according to a statement from the organization. “Selling an underutilized administrative building allows us to reinvest in the people, programs and technology that bring comfort, dignity, and support into homes and communities,” said Jonathan Fleece, president and CEO of Empath Health, in the statement. “It’s a return to our roots and a recommitment to the future.”

AI readiness isn’t a new challenge — it’s a familiar oneBecker's Health IT; by Polly Parrent; 5/28/25As AI sweeps across healthcare headlines, it’s tempting to view it as a brand-new frontier, something fundamentally different from previous health IT efforts. But in reality, AI is not a departure from the digital transformation journey we’ve already been on; it’s a continuation. A recent survey from Nordic and Modern Healthcare on AI readiness in healthcare brings this full circle: the same foundational elements that enabled the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs) — infrastructure, governance, data, and workforce training — are the same critical elements for successful AI adoption.

[United Kingdom] Hospice cuts staff and beds to secure its future BBC News, Yorkshire, UK; by Alex Moss; 5/23/25A hospice in Huddersfield has announced it has made 19 staff redundant and reduced the number of inpatient beds in order to save its future. The Kirkwood provides end-of-life care to about 2,000 patients each year but its chief executive Michael Crowther said it had faced a "perfect storm" of rising operational costs over the past few years. ... He said: "This has been the single hardest decision we have ever had to make." Another nine staff members have agreed to cut their hours and several others have decided to retire to help reduce the annual costs by £1.7m, the hospice added. ..."As you can imagine, this has been one of the most difficult periods in The Kirkwood's history. ..."Editor's note: Read more--directly from The Kirkwood--at "Securing Our Future Together: A New Way Forward." 

Health systems need radical transformation. Are C-suites ready? Becker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 5/21/25Health systems faced with ever-thinning margins and uncertain financial future may be tempted to double-down on cost cutting as an immediate option relief. But for most, that’s not the best option. ... “Amid unprecedented volatility, resource constraints, and technological disruption, how can healthcare executives rapidly adapt and transform their organizations to sustainably deliver high-value care, optimize operational efficiency, and preserve workforce resilience and empathy?” posed Craig Albanese, MD, CEO of Duke University Health System in Durham, N.C. The question is urgent and complex. Hospital leaders are searching for connecting points with old friends, rivals, community organizations and other stakeholders to problem-solve together. They’re also pursuing larger strategic changes instead of small fixes to truly build sustainable organizations for the future. ...

Proposed bill would require MA to pay for hospice care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/21/25 Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) has introduced the Medicare Advantage Reform Act, which among other provisions would require health plans to pay for hospice care. If enacted, the bill, numbered H.R. 3467, would make wholesale changes to the Medicare Advantage program. It would mandate capitated payment models, change risk adjustment methodologies and create new exemptions for physician self-referrals, among other provisions. The potential impacts of moving hospice into Medicare Advantage at this time would be “devastating,” according to the National Alliance for Care at Home. 

A proposal to remove hospice providers from a state review poses a threat to patient care The Boston Globe, Boston, MA; by Diana Franchitto; 5/16/25 The General Assembly should maintain rigorous standards and oppose rolling back Rhode Island’s Certificate of Need process, writes HopeHealth president and CEO. ... As the president and CEO of HopeHealth Hospice & Palliative Care, I am proud that Rhode Island offers some of the highest-quality hospice care in the nation. But right now, legislation before the General Assembly could put that quality at risk.A proposal in Governor Dan McKee‘s fiscal 2026 budget would eliminate the requirement that hospice providers be scrutinized by Rhode Island’s Certificate of Need (CON) process. Some may position this as an effort to streamline government, but those of us who work in hospice care know better. The CON process isn’t one of the flashier, public-facing functions of state government, but it has a direct impact on the quality of health and hospice care that Rhode Islanders receive throughout their lives. ... Exempting hospice from meeting the rigorous standards that a CON requires poses an immediate threat to the quality of patient care. ...