Literature Review

CMS reportedly unresponsive to hospice payment suspension rebuttals Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/29/26 The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been largely unresponsive to hospices’ rebuttals to payment suspensions due to suspicion of fraud. Legitimate hospice providers are being swept into CMS’ broader fraud crackdown, with some agencies reportedly facing payment suspensions severe enough to force closures. ... Hospice News has spoken with 10 hospices that have received suspension letters; each indicated that the block on their payments was based on a single metric — live discharges. Suspended hospices have the ability to file a rebuttal seeking to have the payment freeze reversed. However, to date, few hospices have received any response from CMS or its Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPIC).

How to transform a health system’s organizational culture and hardwire it for the futureNEJM Catalyst; by Brian Carlson, Nancy M. Lorenzi, Paul Sternberg, Jr., Cassandra Hennessy, Dandan Liu; 4/26Organizational culture is a critical driver of workforce and patient experience, yet health care institutions often struggle to sustain their desired culture over time. In 2017, Vanderbilt Health identified inconsistencies in expected workforce behaviors through patient feedback, prompting the creation of a strategic cultural renewal initiative. The resulting program, Defining Personalized Care, had a 4-year road map of seven e-learning modules designed to reinforce core values and improve interpersonal behaviors across the workforce. This single-center pre–post study revealed statistically significant improvements in patient experience scores, particularly in the communication and courtesy domains. The initiative demonstrated that engaging, relevant content combined with visible support from leadership can drive voluntary participation and generate measurable outcomes. This case study offers a replicable framework for health care organizations seeking to hardwire their cultural expectations and align workforce behaviors with patient-centered care goals.

Potential adjunctive role of osteopathic manipulative medicine in the management of cancer-related bone pain: A narrative reviewCureus; by Ambrose Loc T. Ngo, Niki Gharavi Alkhansari, Chi Pham, Hong Nguyen, Monica Rubi, David Tanner; 4/26Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) is known for its therapeutic potential on the musculoskeletal system, and its emerging role and potential benefits in oncology care are gaining attention. Patients with primary and metastatic bone cancer tend to experience pain, restricted movement, and lower quality of life due to the pathology and its treatment. This narrative review examines the mechanistic rationale and available clinical evidence supporting the use of OMM in the management of pain and functional impairment among patients with bone malignancies. Limited clinical studies suggest that select OMM techniques, including myofascial release (MFR), gentle soft tissue methods, and lymphatic approaches, may contribute to improvements in pain perception, mobility, and fatigue in oncology populations.

New! Pediatric e-Journal Issue #83National Alliance for Care at Home press release; 5/20/26The focus of the 83rd issue and the one that immediately preceded it is on topics that relate to trauma and trauma-informed care. This issue specifically addresses trauma and trauma-informed care as they involve providers and care teams.

Public Notice: Nine compete to develop hospice home care office in McDowell County North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; 5/11/26 Nine applicants have filed certificate of need applications with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to develop a hospice home care office in response to a need determination in the 2026 State Medical Facilities Plan (SMFP). Each applicant proposes one project.

Veterans Day 2026: recent articles in the newsHospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger; 5/22/26

Van Duyne introduces the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act to enact Mandatory oversight requirements to combat hospice and home healthcare fraud Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, Washington, DC; Press Release; 5/19/26 ... Since 2023, Rep. Van Duyne (TX-24) has been a recognized leader on the issue of exposing and stopping hospice and home healthcare fraud. ... This week, Rep. Van Duyne introduced new legislation, the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act, to strengthen Medicare oversight, crack down on bad actors, protect seniors from fraudulent enrollments, and improve accountability across the hospice and home health system. ...Summary and Key Provisions: This legislation is a targeted Medicare program integrity package focused on cracking down on hospice and home health fraud while protecting legitimate providers and patient access. The bill is designed to move Medicare oversight from a reactive model to a proactive one by identifying bad actors earlier, particularly in geographic hotspots where provider growth far exceeds patient growth. It targets providers with aberrant billing, discharge, enrollment, or low-quality reporting patterns rather than imposing blanket burdens across the industry. [Continue reading]

Veterans Day 2026: recent articles in the newsHospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger; 5/22/26

Hospitality exec brings hotel playbook to senior living, hits 97% occupancy Pacific Business News, Hawaii; by Cathy Cruz-George; 5/14/26 Mark Tsuda had three decades of hospitality experience when he joined the opening team of Ilima at Leihano, a luxury senior living community in Kapolei, in 2016. He previously was a regional executive for Aston Hotels & Resorts, ... Ilima at Leihano - which provides independent living, assisted living and memory care - has held an occupancy rate of between 95% and 97% over the past six years, supported by 92 employees who balance hotel-style services with healthcare needs and recreation. ... If a resident is in hospice, they can stay with us. Hospice is outsourced to local providers like Malama Ola and Island Hospice, ...

10 of the biggest regrets nurses hear from dying patients SavingAdvice.com; by Amanda Blankenship; 5/15/26 ... Hospice nurse Bronnie Ware famously documented several of the most common regrets she heard from patients nearing death, including working too much and failing to stay close to loved ones. These end-of-life regrets offer important lessons for anyone hoping to live with fewer disappointments and more peace.

Mayo Clinic and Bayesian Health co-develop new AI-powered solution to expand palliative care access and improve patient outcomes PR Newswire, Rochester, MN and New York , NY; by Bayesian Health; 5/19/26Mayo Clinic and Bayesian Health today announced they have co-developed an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to identify hospitalized patients who may benefit from palliative care earlier in their stay. The solution is designed to support timely consultations, with the objective of improving goal-concordant care for patients with serious illness and reducing non-beneficial readmissions.