Literature Review

Research spotlight: characterizing patient perceptions of palliative care in surgical settings Mass General Brigham | Patient Care; by Claire Morton, MD and Zara Cooper, MD, MSc; 5/19/26 ... Question: What did you find? Generally, patients were not familiar with palliative care. If they had heard of it, they often equated it with hospice or end-of-life care, leading to misconceptions about its scope and purpose. However, our observations revealed that patients frequently initiated discussions about concerns relevant to palliative care, such as social or psychological burdens they were experiencing during their visits with surgeons. This indicated an underlying interest in these domains, even if they were not explicitly aware of how palliative care could address them. ...Question: What are the real-world implications, particularly for patients? ...

Varied reporting of the CMS Hospice and Home Health Moratorium

JD Supra: CMS Nationwide Moratoria for new hospice and home health enrollments JD Supra; by Andrew Brenton, Zaina Niles, Bryan Nowicki, Adam Royal, Husch Blackwell LLP; 5/14/26 ... The Husch Blackwell Hospice & Palliative Care team is continuing to evaluate the full implications, scope, and effect of the moratoria, but here are a few key takeaways for providers:

Key impacts of the 2026 National AI Legislative Framework on HealthcareArnall Golden Gregory blog; by Charmaine Mech Aguirre; 4/22/26On March 20, 2026, the White House published the national AI legislative framework, outlining the administration’s preferred blueprint for federal AI legislation. One of the framework’s most consequential themes is its explicit rejection of the current and rapidly expanding “patchwork of conflicting state laws” governing AI as contrary to innovation. Instead, the framework calls for a consistent national policy. The framework adopts an innovation‑forward posture, though it contemplates baseline guardrails for certain higher‑risk AI endeavors. The framework focuses on seven core pillars... [click here for more] Key Takeaways:

Nursing home ratings and characteristics predict hospice use among decedents with serious illnessesJournal of the American Medical Directors Association; by Ellis C Dillon, Chae Man Lee, Wenqi Gan, Doreek Charles, Germine Soliman, Julie Robison; 4/26Approximately one-third of older Americans experience a nursing home (NH) stay within 3 months of death, but it is unclear how NH characteristics influence end-of-life care.  Short-term (vs long-term) NH stays were associated with increased odds of hospice use and short hospice use. Individuals with long-term stays had lower odds of hospice use with stays at NHs with the highest (vs lowest) CMS ratings for quality measures and staffing ... Those with short-term stays had lower odds of hospice use with stays at NHs with the highest CMS Health Inspection ratings. People with long-term stays at NHs that were part of a chain, had Alzheimer's care units, or had more beds had increased odds of hospice care. Conclusions and implications: Among Connecticut Medicaid-insured decedents with NH stays, people with long-term stays and stays in NHs with better CMS ratings had lower odds of hospice use. Assistant Editor's note: It is difficult to obtain national data for Medicaid hospice days. But according to Medicare claims data obtained from Hospice Analytics, 19% of hospice days in 2024 occurred in a nursing home setting. This summary article highlights an important issue and an excellent opportunity for future analysis with a broader study population. Intuitively, we'd like to see highly rated NHs have higher hospice utilization. 

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BREAKING NEWS: CMS announces aggressive nationwide crackdown on fraud with six-month hospice and home health agency enrollment moratoria CMS Newsroom; Press Release; 5/13/26 In coordination with Vice President JD Vance’s Anti-Fraud Task Force, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking decisive action to protect Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayer dollars through implementation of a six-month, nationwide data-driven moratoria on new Medicare enrollment for hospices and home health agencies (HHAs). The moratoria will allow CMS to temporarily halt the influx of new providers into these high-risk categories—a key source of fraudulent activity. Today’s move continues the Trump Administration’s crackdown on fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program by stopping improper billing and preventing bad actors from entering the system.

Revisiting stories about mothersHospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger, Editor in Chief; 5/6/26Some relationships nurture. Some ache. Most carry both. As we move into Mother’s Day weekend, we revisit memorable stories from our newsletter about mothers and the many relationships surrounding them. Some are rooted in unconditional love, some are fractured, and many live in the quiet nuances in between.May these stories serve as gentle catalysts for reflection on your own relationships with the women in your lives — mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, aunts, sisters, in-laws, “steps,” chosen family, and more.

Clinician grief is a hidden crisis in modern hospice care MedPage Today's KevinMD.com; by Linda Ellington, RN; 5/12/26 I stood knocking at the door of my hospice patient like I did every Monday for the past eight months. A musically talented man in his early 40s was always waiting for my weekly nursing visit, more so for the aspect of socialization. He was diagnosed with colon cancer two years prior and had a colostomy bag, leaving this once vibrant, social, even handsome man a shell of what he once was. He became introverted and allowed only one friend to check on him occasionally. He had no family and only one estranged child who lived in another country. There was no answer at the door ...

Compiled responses: CMS hospice and home health moratorium Hospice and Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger; 5/14/26 Many organizations are responding to the CMS announcement on May 13th of an "aggressive nationwide crackdown on fraud with six-month hospice and home health agency enrollment moratoria." As always, our purpose is to guide readers directly to the source, with guidance for your discernment and applications to provide the best hospice and palliative care possible.

CMS just paused new hospice enrollments citing fraud. Here’s what your team needs to say this week. Transcend; by Tony Kudner; 5/13/26 ... While we’re glad steps are being taken to get the bad actors out, there are immediate implications for your teams in the community and in the intake department. The specifics are hard to ignore and will make headlines in your community if they haven’t already: ... 

CMS leader explains hospice fraud, Medicare risks, and the future of healthcare | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Kim Brandt; 5/13/26 In this compelling first installment, CMS Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt joins Chris Comeaux for a candid conversation about the growing hospice fraud crisis, the financial future of Medicare, and the urgent transformation happening across American healthcare. Drawing from her leadership role at CMS and firsthand experiences with hospice care in her own family, Brandt shares why hospice remains a critical pillar of compassionate care — while also exposing the alarming abuse threatening the integrity of the system.

NPHI commends CMS action to implement temporary nationwide hospice moratorium to strengthen hospice program integrity National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation | NPHI, Washington, DC; Press Release; 5/13/26 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the national voice for nonprofit hospice and advanced illness care, applauds the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) announcement of a temporary six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare hospice enrollments that will help stop fraudulent operators from exploiting the Medicare hospice benefit. NPHI was the first organization in the nation to publicly call for a temporary nationwide moratorium, formally urging CMS to take this action in a March 25, 2026 letter sent to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Deputy Administrator and COO Kim Brandt.