Literature Review

Regulatory reference links for home health care, hospice and durable medical equipment National Association for Home Care & Hospice; per email 3/25/24 Includes reference descriptions and links to the following:

HHS Secretary Becerra: We’re with you on telehealth flexibilities Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/21/24 Telehealth flexibilities must become permanent U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra indicated in a congressional hearing [Wed]. At the end of this year, telehealth flexibilities implemented during the pandemic are slated to expire. In a hearing before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Becerra said that HHS was willing to make them permanent. However, he said this would require closer collaboration with state governments. “We’re with you. We can’t allow those flexibilities to expire, and we need to work closer with our state partners, because much of the flexibility that comes from telehealth means being able to go over state lines,” Becerra said.

What are ageing and death from a biological point of view? Polytchnique insights, by Alexis Gautreau and Clemence Guillermain; 3/12/24 Linking philosophy and biology may seem strange. Yet there are many subjects where the two disciplines come into play and are, in turn, essential to understanding them. Death is a perfect example. This biological reality remains an abstract concept until we experience it in our own lives. But, however abstract it may be, death is based on a biological reality. 

The identity dilemma: Navigating rebranding decisions in home health M&A Home Health Care News, by Patrick Filbin; 3/14/24 ... While some companies swiftly integrate acquired businesses into their brand and splash their logo, marketing materials and likeness on the newly acquired assets, others opt to maintain the selling company’s identity. In home-based care, the decision to “rebrand or retain” takes into account a number of factors, sources told Home Health Care News. They include operational efficiency, patient/client retention, market positioning and more.

How the analytics of care can balance workforce capacity MedCity News, by Derek Streat; 3/19/24 U.S. healthcare is experiencing a supply and demand crisis as it races to keep pace with an aging population amidst a workforce shortage and mounting financial pressures. And the situation appears unlikely to improve anytime soon. In fact, recent projections anticipate a shortfall of 139,000 physicians in the next decade, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. One limiting factor preventing the efficient management of workforce resources is a lack of data interoperability. ... 

Hospice group pushes for clarity in N.Y. state budget as some warm to for-profit care Spectrum News 1; by Susan Arbetter; 3/19/24 New York state has the lowest utilization of hospice in the country, which can be attributed to several factors, including low health literacy rates. But the state’s recent progress in support of end-of-life care may be threatened by something even more insidious: corporate greed. To investigate that issue nationally, a joint request for information was issued by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission into private equity-backed health care and its impact on quality. Yet despite dire warnings, New York state is slowly opening the door to for-profit, private equity-backed hospice care. 

CAHPS Hospice Survey - Quality Assurance Guidelines V10.0: Technical Corrections and Clarifications, March 2024 HospiceCahpsSurvey.org; 3/20/24Subsequent to the release of the CAHPS Hospice Survey Quality Assurance Guidelines V10.0 (QAG V10.0), it has been determined that there is a specific content item that requires correction, addition and/or further clarification. The protocol listed in this document replace the previous release of the content in the CAHPS Hospice Survey Quality Assurance Guidelines V10.0. The items are identified [in the pdf available at the title's link].

MedPAC releases March 2024 report on Medicare payment policy CMS MedPAC; 3/15/24 Washington, DC, March 15, 2024—Today, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) releases its March 2024 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report presents MedPAC’s recommendations for updating provider payment rates in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare for 2025 and for providing additional resources to acute care hospitals and clinicians who furnish care to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes. ... MedPAC recommends ... eliminating the payment update for hospice providers; and payment reductions for three post-acute care sectors (skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities).Editor's Note: Click here to download this report's "Chapter 9: Hospice Services"

Home Health and Hospice Coalition questions and Answers, February 5, 2024Palmetto GBA, email 3/22/24.

MedPAC releases March 2024 report on Medicare payment policy CMS MedPAC; 3/15/24 Washington, DC, March 15, 2024—Today, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) releases its March 2024 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report presents MedPAC’s recommendations for updating provider payment rates in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare for 2025 and for providing additional resources to acute care hospitals and clinicians who furnish care to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes. ... MedPAC recommends ... eliminating the payment update for hospice providers; and payment reductions for three post-acute care sectors (skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities).Click here for this report's "Chapter 9: Hospice Services"

Home Care costs continue to increase, outpacing other long-term care settings Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 3/12/24 The pricing increases in home care have again outpaced other long-term care sectors, according to Genworth’s annual cost of care report. 

Why I chose palliative care: A nurse's personal journey to providing comfort careAnschutz, by Lauren Carter; 3/5/24My interest in palliative care started with my grandma’s use of hospice services seventeen years ago. She suffered with multiple sclerosis for over forty years. ... What may have been a terrible experience for most people was actually made very positive for me. ... Unfortunately, I had another opportunity fifteen years later, to once again be there for my family in this way. ... It takes empathy and specialized training to assist in end-of-life care. It may be something that we are called to. I care deeply about these patients and their families. I am able to have difficult conversations when necessary. I try to create space for family members to talk about who the person in the hospital bed is, when that person can no longer talk for themselves. ...

Jimmy Carter has spent over a year in hospice care. How has he defied the odds? Northeastern Global News, by Tanner Stening; 3/12/24 End-of-life advocates and experts cite Carter’s stay in hospice as having a positive impact on the discourse of end-of-life care, which Northeastern University experts say many people put off until it’s too late. ... According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 90% of patients who enter hospice care die within the first six months. Roughly 36% of patients die within a week of entering hospice.Editor's Note: This article includes an important, transparent piece of information that many articles about President Carter's 1-year hospice anniversary have not mentioned: "If the patient lives past six months, the medical professionals would need to recertify the patient for continued care." Click here for the CMS "Face-to-Face Requirement Affecting Hospice Recertification."