Literature Review

Oregon considers bill to stop hospice scammers from entering state Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/13/26 State lawmakers in Oregon are mulling a bill designed to combat hospice fraud. Senate Bill 1575 would prevent hospices that have committed fraud or provided substandard care in other states from setting up shop in Oregon. If enacted, the Oregon Health Authority, a state agency, would examine the history of companies seeking to open hospices before approving a license, including Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey results, among other information. 

Aveanna CEO: Hospice multiples still too high Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/13/26 As Aveanna Healthcare Holdings considers potential acquisitions, hospices are not on the menu due to their high price tags. Hospice multiples skyrocketed during the boom M&A years of 2019 through 2022, reaching as high a 26x, sometimes more. As transactions slowed down between 2023 and 2025, one contributing factor was a disconnect between sellers’ and buyers’ expectations regarding valuations. Now hospice deals are picking up steam. The fourth quarter of 2025 saw the industry’s highest deal volume since 2021, and one reason is that sellers’ and buyers’ expectations are becoming more aligned. However, this trend hasn’t yet gone far enough, according to Aveanna CEO Jeff Shaner. “[Hospice multiples] are all north of 10x. ..."

The Alliance and the Research Institute for Home Care release 2025 Hospice Chartbook National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 2/19/26 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) and The Research Institute for Home Care (the Institute) are excited to announce the release of the 2025 Hospice Chartbook. Highlighting the vital role that hospice plays in caring for an aging demographic, the Chartbook provides a look at the patients being served in hospice, who they are demographically and clinically, and more.  Now in its second year, the 2025 Hospice Chartbook, co-sponsored by the Alliance, provides an overview of national patient and workforce data with an emphasis on state-specific information and trends, including key data on hospice patients and providers, Medicare spending on hospice, and more. 

Medicare hospice use patterns among patients with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias compared to those with other terminal diagnoses (Issue Brief)ASPE; Frank, J., Huessard, K., Broyles, I., Frazier, L., Oliveira, I., Haltermann, W., III, Lamont, H., Okafor, M., & Blanco, M.; 9/25Key Points:

Longmont restaurant owner hits the road to make hospital patient's wish come true NBC 9 News, Longmont, CO; by Colton Chavez; 2/6/26 A Longmont restaurant owner is driving to Montana this weekend to personally deliver baked potatoes to a patient who listed visiting his establishment as one of their wishes. Eddy Ellson, owner of Big Bear Baked Potatoes, received a message through his restaurant's website from a hospice nurse in Montana asking if he could share his recipe or send food to a patient named Kristle, who wanted to visit his restaurant but was too ill to make the trip. "One of her last wishes she asked the nurse to take her to Denver because she wanted to go to Big Bear Baked Potatoes," Ellson said. Instead of sending a recipe, Ellson decided to make the journey himself. He plans to cook for Kristle, her family, and her nurses on Super Bowl Sunday, when his restaurant is normally closed.

[Canada] The quiet web of care: Hospitals, hospice, paramedics and community working as one The Millstone; Mississippi Mills area, Canada; 1/25/26 When we think about care, most of us picture the hospital: rooms, nurses, doctors, the moment a life changes. But real care in North Lanark is not anchored to a single building. It’s a living web the Mississippi River Health Alliance — Almonte General Hospital, Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital, Fairview Manor, and Lanark County Paramedic Service — working alongside Home Hospice North Lanark and Houle Healthcare so neighbors can get the right help at the right time, in the place that matters most. ... They are parts of the same journey, passing the baton back and forth so patients, families and neighbors are not left to navigate alone.Editor's Note: Pair this with today's post, "Why patient flow will decide hospital performance in 2026."

What hospice leaders need to know about H.R.7148 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress | signed by the President, 2/3/26Congress.gov; content below gleaned for hospice leaders by Judi Lund Person, Guest Editor

Elara Caring secures new strategic investment from Ares and DaVita Elara Caring News; Press Release; 2/2/26 Elara Caring (Elara) ... today announced that it has entered into an agreement for a strategic investment from Ares’ Private Equity Group (Ares) and DaVita. The investment is intended to expand access to personalized, clinically advanced care at home for patients with complex and acute needs. Elara will continue to operate as a wholly independent company led by CEO Ananth Mohan and the current management team. 

CommonSpirit Health at Home’s ‘aggressive’ hospice growth strategy for 2026 and beyond Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/10/26 Continuing its de novo- and joint venture-based blueprint for growth, home health and hospice provider CommonSpirit Health at Home is also setting plans in motion to engage patients further upstream for earlier hospice enrollment, when appropriate. CommonSpirit Health at Home is the home-based care arm of the nonprofit health system CommonSpirit Health, which operates more than 2,200 care sites across 24 states. Hospice News caught up with CommonSpirit Health at Home CEO Trisha Crissman at the Home Care 100 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona to discuss CommonSpirit Health at Home’s strategic plans for 2026, as well as the top trends and market forces shaping the hospice community.

What hospice leaders need to know about H.R.7148 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress | signed by the President, 2/3/26Congress.gov; content below gleaned by Judi Lund Person, Guest Editor

“Existential risk” – Why scientists are racing to define consciousness WDC TV News; by WDC TV News Staff; 2/1/26 As artificial intelligence continues to advance and ethical concerns grow alongside it, scientists say the need to understand consciousness has reached a critical point. In a new review published in Frontiers in Science, researchers warn that progress in AI and neurotechnology is moving faster than scientific understanding of consciousness. This gap, they argue, could lead to serious ethical problems if it is not addressed. The authors say explaining how consciousness emerges is now an urgent scientific and moral priority. A clearer understanding could eventually make it possible to develop scientific methods for detecting consciousness. That breakthrough would have far-reaching consequences ...

Patients with terminal blood cancer stress need for transfusion access in hospice care, survey findsHematology Advisor; by Joantahn Goodman, MPhil; 1/28/26  Patients with blood cancer eligible for hospice care emphasize the importance of access to transfusion over other services, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. The survey-based study confirms that, among patients with an estimated life expectancy of 6 months or less, routine hospice services are perceived of less value than transfusion access — suggesting that palliative transfusion availability should be incorporated into hospice care universally, the authors noted in their report.

Drivers of disease-specific end-of-life disparities Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/30/26 ... Racial and ethnic disparities persist among underserved patient populations with dementia, who have a stronger likelihood of dying without awareness or access to hospice, recent research has found. Clinicians may play a vital role in moving the needle forward. Nearly 260, 000 Black, Hispanic and white Medicare decedents with dementia-related conditions were recently examined in a new study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum.  Editor's Note: We posted this study in our Saturday Research newsletter, 12/27/25, End-of-life care for older adults with dementia by race and ethnicity and physicians’ role. This article gives more practical descriptions and applications for its results.