Literature Review

Forced to work in a vacuum, MedPAC recommends another Medicare cutMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 11, 2023A Congressional advisory group appears ready to recommend a 3% Medicare pay cut for nursing homes in 2025. In what has become an annual tradition, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voiced ongoing concerns Friday about the use of Medicare Fee for Service reimbursement to effectively subsidize Medicaid rates and Medicare Advantage payments. With official data indicating that patients still have plenty of access to care, panel staff recommended MedPAC tell Congress that it should pursue a cut to Chair Michael Chernew, PhD, a healthcare policy professor at Harvard, said the 3% cut could be steeper given the reported margins. But the commission—tasked only with considering Medicare policy—remains cognizant of the pressures faced by providers accepting Medicaid and being increasingly low balled by managed care plans.

Here’s why you can’t die peacefully in Oklahoma.By Abby RemmingThe OklahomanDecember 6, 2023... Having Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan would cover hospice, but many people have private insurance from work or state Medicaid plans. Private insurance and Medicaid Advantage plans at times can have a hospice benefit but limit which companies can be used. Applying for Medicare will ensure you are covered for hospice. ... I currently work as a hospital social worker and assist many people who need hospice. Many times, I have had to share with patients and their families that, while they may be ready to peacefully pass away, hospice coverage is not included in the patient’s current insurance plan. Providing end-of-life care is extremely difficult without the added burden of worrying whether insurance will cover the benefit. Those without the benefit and who need the service are then reliant upon the generosity of the companies to absorb the cost. If the Medicaid Advantage plan is picked, a person would need to decide if they wanted the benefit to either cover nursing home care or in-home hospice care. A Medicaid Advantage plan might not cover hospice even when the policyholder believes they have the benefit. 

Hospice Clinician Wages Rising at Slower Rate; Turnover FallingHospice NewsDecember 1, 2023Wages for hospice clinicians continue to go up amid widespread staff shortages, but they grew at a slower rate in 2023 compared to the prior year. The national average hourly rate for Hospice registered nurses rose 4.58% in 2023, down from a 5.95% increase in 2022, according to a new report by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service in cooperation with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. Meanwhile, turnover rates declined in 2023, representing the first drop in several years, the report indicated.