Literature Review

Best case/worst case: A multisite randomized trial of scenario planning for patients with late-stage kidney diseaseJournal of American Geriatrics Society; by Lily N. Stalter, Bret M. Hanlon, Kyle J. Bushaw, Jenna Nitkowski, Anne Buffington, Katharine L. Cheung, Amy B. Zelenski, Kristine Kwekkeboom, Amar D. Bansal, Deidra Candice Crews, Holly M. Koncicki, Daniel Lam, Alvin H. Moss, Maya K. Rao, Dawn Felicity Wolfgram, Jeniann Yi, Carrie Brill, Tamara Isakova, Margaret L. Schwarze; 9/26Best Case/Worst Case (BC/WC) is a communication tool to support nephrologists and older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease with decisions about dialysis. We compared the effectiveness of training nephrologists to use BC/WC versus usual care on receipt of palliative care, quality of life (QOL), quality of communication, dialysis initiation, and death. While we hypothesized that improving prognostic awareness and communication would increase palliative care utilization, the challenges of connecting patients with life-limiting kidney disease to palliative care are multifaceted, well documented, and likely not surmountable with a communication intervention alone. Conclusion: Training nephrologists to use the BC/WC communication tool does not significantly affect receipt of palliative care or other measurable clinical outcomes.

HopeWest Gala raises funds for Delta County families experiencing aging, serious illness, and griefDelta County Independent [CO]; by HopeWest; 10/13/26This year’s HopeWest Gala, themed “A Night of Romantic Renaissance,” transformed the Bill Heddles Recreation Center on Sept. 19 into a world of fiery dragons and faraway castles. The sold-out event raised more than $77,000 to support HopeWest programs and services throughout Delta County. 323 guests gathered in support of the HopeWest mission to profoundly change the way the community experiences aging, serious illness and grief, one family at a time.

Husband donates seven figures to build Newport News hospice home in honor of late wife 13 News - ABC, Newport News, VA; by Germyah Batey; 10/20/26 A seven-figure donation to the Riverside Foundation will help bring a new hospice home to Newport News, inspired by one husband’s experience caring for his wife, who died from Alzheimer’s disease earlier this year. James Thorton is making the gift in honor of his wife, Donna, his high school sweetheart and wife of 56 years. ... Thorton became Donna’s full-time caregiver, helping manage her daily needs, medications, and comfort. “There are parts of dementia which I could manage and control,” he said. “I could make sure she’s fed, make sure that she got her meds on time, make sure she was comfortable.” Riverside’s palliative care team eventually stepped in to help care for Donna at home. Thorton said the team was pleasant and understanding, an experience that inspired him to help other families facing similar challenges.

Q2 earnings highs and lows: Chemed (NYSE:CHE)vs the rest of the senior health, home health & hospice stocks FinancialContent; by StockStory; 10/20/26 Looking back on senior health, home health & hospice stocks’ Q2 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Chemed (NYSE: CHE) and its peers. ...

Lobbying update: $1,520,000 of Humana Inc lobbying was just disclosed Quiver Quantitative; by Quiver Lobbying Radar; 10/20/26 $1,520,000 of HUMANA INC lobbying was just disclosed, from Q3 of 2026, in a new Lobbying Disclosure Act filing. This included lobbying on issues like: "Medicare Advantage (MA) Policy and Reimbursement Medicare Part D Issues Medicaid Policy Issues Including Dual Eligibles Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) and Pharmacy Policy and Reimbursement Issues Home Health Policy and Reimbursement Issues Implementation of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Public Law No. 117-169 H.R. 3514/S.1816, Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 (119th Congress) Prior Authorization Policy and Regulatory Issues CMS-4185-F2 Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment Data Validation Final Rule Primary Care and Value-Based Care Policy and Reimbursement Clinical Policy Issues Including Workforce and Mental Health Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS): ... [the list continues]

Announcing JAMA AI - A new journal from the JAMA NetworkJAMA Network; by Roy H. Perlis, Annette Flanagin, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo; 10/15/26We are pleased to announce that JAMA AI, the 14th journal in the JAMA Network, will launch in early 2027. JAMA AI will address the full spectrum of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, from foundational advances to real-world clinical implications. We will strive to publish clinical research that involves not only AI, but the full range of computational tools as they are applied to improve human health. Beyond AI, the journal will publish impactful studies that incorporate mobile apps, wearable sensors, physiologic monitors, digital imaging and pathology, virtual reality, and all the analytic and implementation methods necessary to apply these technologies in medicine and health care. We will also publish studies that capture the effects of technology on health more broadly, including AI and social media.

L.A. health care fraud takedown results in 15 defendants charged, including six medical professionals, with $2 billion in losses alleged United States Attorney's Office | Central District of California; 10/22/26 The Justice Department today announced charges against 15 defendants, including six medical professionals, for health care fraud schemes that collectively resulted in $2 billion in fraudulent claims to government and private health care programs, including sham substance abuse treatment programs, unnecessary artery treatments, and bogus hospice services. ... Hospice Fraud: 

‘Byzantine ownership arrangements’: Calls to scrutinize coding and profit incentives in nursing home Medicare paymentsSkilled Nursing News; by Zahida Siddiqi; 10/9/26Policy analysts at the nonpartisan agency that advises Congress on Medicare policy are planning to investigate potential coding distortions, payment inaccuracies and whether financial incentives influence patient selection by nursing home providers as part of an assessment of payment accuracy in fee-for-service Medicare’s skilled nursing facility and home health payment systems. At its October meeting Friday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) discussed a research work plan, with commissioners calling attention to for-profit providers seeking to game the system, with a rising role of hidden private equity influence. [MedPAC presentation slides here.]Publisher's note: Bold and italics above are ours; if MedPAC is looking at this in SNF and HHA, hospice is likely not too far behind...

Social Media Watch 10/9/26

Reconnecting at the end: The healing power of nature in hospice and palliative careDr. Owen Wiseman blog; by Owen Wiseman; 8/18/26 [Originally published by Dr. Wiseman through the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association on 1/5/26]A caregiver gently holds the hand of an older adult resting in a hospital bed, conveying compassion, comfort, and human connection during serious illness or end-of-life care. When I think about comfort at the end of life, I picture difficult moments buffered by a sense of softness. Small moments that remind us that we’re part of something bigger. One of the most profound sources of comfort is nature. The feeling of sunlight warming our skin, the sound of birds outside a window, or that first breath of fresh air. In hospice and palliative care, every moment is important, and these connections to the world around us offer something no medicine or machine can. Why nature matters...

Out now: the Global Atlas of Palliative Care, 3rd editionWorldwide Hospice Pallaitive Care Alliance (WHPCA); by Stephen R. Connor; 10/9/26Today, at the 50th Montréal International Palliative Care Congress, we launched the third edition of the Global Atlas of Palliative Care. It offers the most complete picture yet of who needs palliative care worldwide, and who is receiving it. The picture shows real progress, but a gap that remains very wide.

LifeTouch Health data breach exposes Social Security numbers and health recordsData Breach Rights; 10/13/26Arkansas Hospice Inc., operating as LifeTouch Health, notified the Vermont Attorney General in October 2026 of a data breach exposing Social Security numbers, government ID numbers, financial account data, and health records. The number of people affected has not been publicly disclosed. Affected individuals should place a credit freeze and monitor both credit reports and insurance statements closely.

Hospice waits on a court order when no family can speak for youThe Podcast by KevinMD; 10/8/26A man is dying. He cannot speak, and no one in his life can say what he would have wanted. Kirsten Engel is a palliative medicine physician, and Medha Tripathi is a health writer and incoming Fulbright research scholar. This episode is based on their article “Guardianship and hospice care fail dying patients,” published on KevinMD. They explain what happens when a patient has no family and no health care proxy, and a court appoints a guardian who has never met them. A move to comfort measures then needs a court date that can take weeks, while the hospital works in hours and days.Publisher's note: How often do hospices serve patients with no family and/or health care proxy? What challenges do you face? What solutions are available?