Literature Review

Home health aide pay 2026: $17.36/hr average, top states & policy threat to your paycheck Unfinished Man; by Rasha; 8/11/26 The average home health aide makes $36,120 a year, or $17.36 an hour — but pay varies widely by state, setting, and a proposed federal rule change. You search “home health aide salary” and get three different numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says one thing, Payscale says another, and the Labor Department median sits somewhere in between. Which one do you trust? ... Some aides earn barely above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Others clear $20 an hour. And right now, there’s a policy fight happening that could change everything about how this job pays.

Can a short-term moratorium strengthen the hospice sector? LeadingAge; by Katie Smith Sloan; 8/11/26 President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan explains why LeadingAge supported the six-month moratorium on Medicare enrollment of new hospice providers and what nonprofit providers can do to strengthen the hospice sector.Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to attend a community theater production of the iconic musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” In a series of unforgettable scenes, Tevye, the production’s main character, makes difficult family decisions by artfully balancing opposing views before choosing his path. “On the one hand,” he intones, then ruminates on the important role tradition must play in the life of his village and family. “On the other hand,” he counters thoughtfully, then acknowledges that the inevitability of change must be factored into every decision.I’ve recalled Tevye’s internal monologue many times since May, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a six-month national moratorium on enrolling new hospice agencies in Medicare. ...

Sixth Circuit clarifies Medicare safe harbor for hospice providers in landmark coverage decision JD Supra; by Jason Bring and Bill Dombi; 8/5/26 Key Takeaways

Private equity ownership in hospice care:  a systematic review (2012-2026) American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Denise D. Quigley, Shannon Walsh, Cordt T. Kassner, Lara Dhingra, Andrew W. Dick; 7/28/26 Hospice care is associated with improved end-of-life outcomes. Recent shifts in hospice utilization highlight several key trends. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) (25%) have surpassed cancer (23%) as the leading primary diagnosis. Concurrently, industry ownership has transitioned from predominantly nonprofit to for-profit (70%) and private equity (PE) ownership has grown dramatically from 3% to 15%. To date, no study has synthesized evidence on PE ownership in hospice care.  We conducted a systematic review of English-language, peer-reviewed studies published 2012-2026, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

MatrixCare publishes their list of 2026 CAHPS Honors Elite and Honors Award winners MatrixCare, by ResMed; retrieved from the MatrixCare website on 8/11/26 For over 10 years, the prestigious HHCAHPS Honors and Hospice CAHPS Honors programs recognize agencies that excel in delivering positive patient experiences and high-quality care as measured by the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) and Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (CAHPS) satisfaction scores. ... By highlighting agencies that excel in patient satisfaction and quality of care, these programs not only celebrate outstanding achievement, but also set standards of excellence within the industry. They inspire agencies to continually prioritize the patient and caregiver experiences—fostering trust, compassion, and innovation in home health and hospice services. [Read the list here.]Editor's Note: This list was selected and published by MatrixCare (a ResMed company), and is limited to their clients, only. MatrixCare's "Honors" status indicates scores above MatrixCare's National Performance scores for at least 17 of 22 measures; "Elite" status indicates scores above national averages for all 22 measures. Several other CAHPS approved vendors provide their own scoring and awards. CMS--itself--does not run an award program; it does publish official Care Compare measure scores. Congratulations to all organizations listed, especially the approximately 70 that reached MatrixCare's top "Honors Elite" tier.

Hospice physician: pain management growing more complex for families Hospice News; by James Warda; 8/7/26  When a patient starts to receive hospice care, families often expect to focus on making memories, finding comfort and spending meaningful time together. However, many instead find themselves making frantic phone calls to multiple pharmacies, driving across town to locate medications, or waiting days for prescriptions that should be readily available, with a patient in need at home. According to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine’s (AAHPM) Board of Directors Secretary, Dr. Michael Barnett, a hospice physician and former inpatient palliative care physician, this growing challenge is becoming an all-too-common part of end-of-life care.

National Alliance for Care at Home responds to FY 2027 Hospice Final RuleNational Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA; Press Release; 7/30/26The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) today responded to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fiscal year (FY) 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update final rule, which finalizes payment and regulatory changes under the Medicare hospice benefit.CMS finalized a 2.3% payment update to the Medicare hospice benefit, which continues to fall short of the rising labor and supply costs required to deliver high-quality hospice care. As demand for hospice services continues to grow, payment updates must more accurately reflect providers’ costs so that access to these essential services does not decline. “CMS’s 2.3% payment update does not reflect the true cost of delivering hospice care and adds further strain to providers who are already stretched thin,” said Jennifer Sheets, CEO of the Alliance. “Compounding that pressure is a Service and Spending Variation Index built on a fundamentally flawed methodology that penalizes legitimate providers for non-hospice claims they have no visibility into nor control over, with no process to review or correct the data before it is made public. This is not a sound approach to program integrity. An inadequate payment update combined with an unreliable oversight tool creates a serious and growing burden for legitimate providers working to serve their communities.”

NY’s MAiD law: updates that medical providers and facilities should know JD Supra; by Rivkin Radler, LLD - Attorneys at Law; 7/31/26As discussed in our prior publication, Medical Aid in Dying Is Now Legal in NY, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID) on February 6, 2026. Since then, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has issued a form (DOH-5847) for patients to request MAID, frequently asked questions (FAQs), educational materials, guidance, and proposed reporting regulations. Together, these materials provide important directions for providers and facilities as they prepare for the law’s August 5, 2026, effective date.

One clinician, every conversation: Palliative care delivery by solo APRN hospitalists in Critical Access HospitalsJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; by Melissa Skoff; 7/26Advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) who practice as solo hospitalists in critical access hospitals are often underrecognized in their role in providing palliative and end-of-life care. This article describes the full scope of the solo APRN hospitalist in a critical access hospital setting with close attention to how complex patient demands contribute to the challenges in providing high-quality end-of-life communications. This article examines clinical, educational, and ethical dimensions of this work, and presents a case example that illustrates how these pressures present during a shift. Strategies to strengthen rural palliative care capacity are discussed, including tele-palliative care, remote ethics support, and APRN-centered education. As rural workforce shortages persist and continue to rise, alongside rising patient acuity, naming and addressing these structural gaps is essential in improving quality of care and protecting the well-being of a solo APRN hospitalist.

CMS Website: SSVI Index; FY 2027 Final SSVI Overview; FY 2027 Final Hospice Wage IndexCMS website; compiled by Judi Lund Person; retrieved from the Internet 8/3/26 Downloads on CMS website that provide additional information for the final rule; zip files [standard delivery format]