Literature Review

Free CHAP Webinar: CMS Posts Final Hospice Rule - Quality changes and regulatory requirement Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP); taught by Dr. Jennifer Kennedy; posted 8/13/24, webinar will be 8/21/24, 1:00-2:00 pm EDTCMS posted the final rule for hospice providers which drives big changes into motion for 2025.  [Click here for the] Final FY 2025 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update/Quality Reporting Rule  (CMS-1810-F), posted on the Federal Register on August 7, 2024. This free webinar will be taught by Jennifer Kennedy, Vice President, Quality, Compliance and Standards, CHAP. She spent many years as a leader and nurse in diverse healthcare settings with the past 25 years in hospice and palliative care. Dr. Kennedy came to CHAP in 2021 with a vision of moving the organization’s quality forward as “the” accreditation partner of choice for the majority of community-based providers. She believes no matter what type of care a patient receives or how many times they receive care, every experience should be of the highest quality. Webinar Objectives:

Top news stories of the month, July 2024Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux and Mark Cohen; 8/7/24 In this week’s podcast, Mark Cohen joins me once more for the Top News Stories for the prior month from Hospice & Palliative Care Today... The conversation covers various topics including private equity in healthcare, the increasing scrutiny of for-profit hospitals, fraud in hospice care, and the importance of trust in the hospice sector. The principal themes include the playbook of private equity playbook, the challenges faced by for-profit hospitals and their potential the impact on the Hospice sector, and the erosion of trust due to fraud.

Becoming time rich with physician moms: Sarah Wittry and Nicole Perrotte MarketScale - Ripple of Change; by Todd Otten; 7/30/24 In today’s high-stress healthcare environment, physician mothers face the formidable challenge of balancing demanding careers with their personal lives. The conversation on work-life balance is more relevant than ever, with more women in medicine seeking ways to manage these dual responsibilities effectively. How can physician moms navigate this landscape to reclaim time for themselves without guilt? What strategies can physician moms employ to achieve a healthier work-life balance? This pressing question lies at the heart of today’s discussion on the Ripple of Change podcast. ... Key points of discussion:

How the Hospice CARE Act could change respite services Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/1/24 The Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act, if enacted, would make changes to the ways hospices provide respite care. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is in the process of drafting the bill that would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight. The legislation is currently in a discussion draft phase, which has been circulated among the nation’s major industry trade associations and their members for feedback. ... “There’s evidence that people who take advantage of hospice care delivered properly, actually have a higher quality of life. Oftentimes, they live longer,” Blumenauer said at Elevate. “This is an opportunity to do something in this Congress that is concrete, specific, that will save money and improve the quality of care for some of our most vulnerable people.”

Avow Kids receives transformational gift from Naples Children & Education FoundationAvow Hospice press release; 7/23/24Avow Foundation has received a generous grant of $115,000 from the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. The grant is specifically intended for Avow Kids, a program for children ages 5 - 17 that provides support and companionship to youth experiencing any type of grief. The grant will support Avow Kids’ various services, such as individual counseling, support groups, workshops, camps, music therapy, movie nights, and more.

Home health sees spending, utilization decline as hospice equivalents grow, MedPAC reportsMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 7/19/24Though hospice spending and utilization appear to be on the rise, Medicare spending on home health has fallen amid declining utilization in recent years, according to a new report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. In 2022, the year of the most recent available data, Medicare home health spending shrank to $16.4 billion. That compares to $17 billion the year prior, the report found. Meanwhile, the number of home health users declined by 6.3% from 2021, and the overall share of Medicare beneficiaries that use home health shrank by 3% from the year prior. The total number of in-person home health visits decreased by 9.6% year-over-year in 2022... Meanwhile, the hospice industry has experienced both reimbursement and utilization gains in recent years, MedPAC reported. Medicare hospice payments rose 2.7% year-over-year in 2022, while the number of beneficiaries using hospice services ticked up by 0.4%. These patients are also receiving more care; the total number of hospice days provided to beneficiaries increased by 2% in 2022.

Help improve the PEPPER ProgramPEPPER email; 7/30/24There is a temporary pause in distributing Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPERs) as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) work to improve and update the program and reporting system. This pause will remain in effect through the fall of 2024. We recognize the importance of these reports to your practice. Therefore, during this time, CMS will be working diligently to enhance the quality and accessibility of the reports. In fulfilling this commitment, CMS seeks responses to a series of questions listed in the Request for Information (RFI). These questions will provide CMS with information that may be used to reevaluate PEPPERs and improve the effectiveness and accessibility of the program. The RFI (PDF) is available here. Responses are due on or before 08/19/2024 and must be provided via online submission at the following address: CBRPEPPERInquiries@cms.hhs.gov. 

Pain Management at the End of LifeJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; HPNA position statement; 8/24Pain management is essential from the time of diagnosis of a serious illness and throughout the disease trajectory. Unfortunately, the prevalence of pain in those with serious illness remains unacceptably high. In most cases, pain experienced by people with advanced disease can be prevented or relieved through optimal care, yet studies reveal that patients continue to experience uncontrolled pain in the final weeks, days, and hours of their lives...

What drives health spending in the U.S. compared to other countries?Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker; By Emma Wager Twitter, Shameek Rakshit, Cynthia Cox; 8/2/24The United States spends significantly more on healthcare than comparable countries do, and yet has worse health outcomes. Much of the national conversation has focused on spending on retail prescription drugs and insurer profits and administrative costs as key drivers of health spending in the United States. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Biden in 2022, includes several provisions aimed at lowering the cost of these prescription drugs. While it is true that many brand-name retail prescription drugs are priced higher in the U.S. than in peer countries, health spending data indicates that other spending categories – particularly hospital and physician payments – are primary drivers of the U.S.’s higher health spending. This brief examines the drivers of health spending and differences between the U.S. and its peers – other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations that are similarly large and wealthy. In 2021, the U.S. spent nearly twice as much per capita on health as these comparable countries did. Most of the additional dollars the U.S. spends on health go to providers for inpatient and outpatient care. The U.S. also spends more on administrative costs, and significantly less on long-term care. [Long-term care spending includes health and social services provided in long-term care institutions such as nursing homes as well as home- and community-based settings.] ... In 2021, the U.S. spent nearly twice as much on health per person as comparable countries ($12,197 compared to $6,514 per person, on average).

What’s changed in hospice in 2024?Managed Healthcare Executive; By Deborah Abrams Kaplan; 8/5/24Hospice use continues to grow as more older people have serious diseases, leading to the need for more palliative care. At the same time, CMS is adapting and trying new models to measure and improve quality and pay for services. The federal government spent $23.7 billion on hospice care in 2022, according to the latest Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report, with at least 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries receiving service. This includes nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries who died that year. Here’s what to expect over the next year. [Summarized]

Hospices build community partnerships to better serve patients, employees Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/29/24 Hospice care does not occur in a vacuum, and many operators find themselves building partnerships with other community organizations to better serve patients and support their staff. Providers work with other institutions to provide general inpatient and respite care, address social determinants of health and improve health equity, among other initiatives. Some also partner with medical and nursing schools to ensure students in health care fields gain exposure to hospice and palliative care principles. Notable Mentions: Skelly Wingard, CEO of By the Bay Health; Mary Shankster, Chief Development Officer at Stillwater Hospice; Altonia Garrett, COO of Blue Ridge Hospice

Acupuncture as a support in palliative care at Sun City Center HAW The Tidewater News, Ruskin, FL; 7/22/24 Sun City Center Health and Wellness (HAW) is dedicated to providing comprehensive care for patients managing serious illnesses, championing the use of acupuncture as a key supportive treatment in palliative care. This practice, grounded in traditional Chinese medicine, offers relief from common symptoms and enhances overall well-being. ... The role of acupuncture in palliative care is gaining recognition for its potential to improve the quality of life for patients dealing with serious illnesses.

Hospices strategize sustainable growth for Veteran Programs Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/26/24 Hospices combat both operational and financial challenges as they seek to grow and evolve their veteran programs around the diverse and complex needs of patients and their families. Some of the largest expenses associated with offering veteran services include staffing and training costs ... In addition to staff training, this includes having ways to honor veterans for their service, assess the social determinant of health resources they may need and identify gaps of caregiver support. ... Forming community collaborations with organizations such as We Honor Veterans [NHPCO], Wounded Warriors or the Veteran Affairs’ (VA) Pet Partners therapy program can be beneficial to having a more inclusive care delivery approach.Editor's Note: Notable mentions include Carlos Graveran, executive director at Maryland-based Frederick Health Hospice; Sherri Bickley, vice president of patient support services at Oklahoma-based Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care; and Carla Creegan, PACE director of clinical services and director of adult day swervices at Empath Health.