Literature Review

Trump freezes HHS communications: report Modern Healthcare Alert; by Bridget Early; 1/22/25 The Health and Human Services Department and its agencies are going silent for now, according to the Washington Post. On Tuesday, the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, HHS received an order to halt all outbound communications, including health advisories, weekly reports, research, website updates and social media posts, the newspaper reported. The Washington Post reports that the pause has no definitive end date and that the decree does not specify whether exceptions will be made for disease outbreaks or other urgent situations. The directive applies to agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed collection; Comment request Federal Register - United States Government; A Notice by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health  and Human Services; 12/16/24 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO brings resentment of the health care system to the fore STAT Business, Boston, MA; by Bob Herman and Tara Bell; 12/6/24 The targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has become a defining moment in the zeitgeist of American health care. The attack was a tragedy that adds to the country’s grim tally of gun deaths. But instead of eliciting sympathy, it opened the floodgates for an outpouring of rage, captured across social media and online forums, over the health care system — one that charges people the highest prices in the world, erects financial and bureaucratic barriers to getting care, and has plunged millions of people into debt. Social media posts have ranged from mournful to apathetic to joyful, including morbid celebrations of Thompson’s death. That deluge has forced people across the country to grapple with two heavy subjects at once: the callousness of a slaying, and an undercurrent of deep-seated anger at a health care industry that makes a lot of money by exploiting Americans. ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

New alliance steps up as voice for providers & patients HomeCare; by Hannah Wolfson; 12/3/24 Stopping Medicare cuts, ensuring Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have good access to care, passing groundbreaking hospice legislation and bringing homecare into the forefront are all priorities for the newly-formed National Alliance for Care at Home, said CEO Steve Landers. “We’ve got to start improving access to home health care, and the way that we do that is we end this march of payment cuts that are being set forward by Medicare,” Landers said at the Alliance’s Homecare and Hospice Conference and Expo, which was held in October in Tampa, Florida. ... The alliance has automatically enrolled members of both legacy organizations, but Landers said that for renewals or new members, participants will be required to sign an attestation that says they have a program in place for quality and compliance, that they monitor the Office of Inspector General’s expulsion list and don’t take referrals or staff from organizations on that list and that they strive to participate in Medicare’s quality reporting programs.

Inside the Justice Department’s Amedisys-Optum lawsuit Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/18/24 ... DOJ’s chief concern is that the combination of the two companies would dampen competition in the hospice and home health space. Should the transaction proceed, Optum would control 30% or more of the home health or hospice services in eight states, according to the Justice Department’s complaint. The deal would expand Optum’s home health and hospice footprint to five additional states, allowing the company to gain nearly 500 locations in 32 states. “UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Amedisys, Inc. are two of the largest home health and hospice service providers in the country,” DOJ indicated in the complaint. “Today, competition between UnitedHealth and Amedisys benefits millions of Americans who need home health or hospice services. But the proposed merger between UnitedHealth and Amedisys would forever eliminate that competition.”

Hospice advocate Judi Lund Person ... featured on Close Up Radio Western Slope Now, Ashburn, VA; by EIN Presswire; 7/26/24 (article) and 7/29/24 (recording)... Talking about where you’d like to be, who you’d like to be, and what you’d like to do is essential to entering this life-stage with confidence and grace. As the former Vice President of Regulatory and Compliance at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and a longtime advocate for hospice services under Medicare, Judi Lund Person has been working hard for more than 40 years to protect the definition of hospice care and to provide resources and guides for hospice providers to meet the Medicare requirements and provide high quality hospice care. ... Her passion for supporting patients and families during and after death began as a child. “When I was 12, my dad had a heart attack at night and passed when he was only 42. With two younger sisters, ages eight and ten, I was stunned that no one seemed to know what to do with us concerning our grief as children. We were left to try and figure it out on our own. I always thought that wasn’t quite right. Deep down, that experience was a driver for my career. I always knew families deserved more support during the grieving process,” shares Ms. Person. Editor's Note: Click here for the session's description. Click here for the recording. 

Vital Signs: Digital Health Law Update | Spring 2024 Jones Day - Vital Signs; by Vital Signs' Editors; July 2024Welcome to Vital Signs, a curated compilation of the latest legal and regulatory developments in digital health.  [Topics include the following:]

Hospice CARES Act would update medical reviews, seek to reduce audits Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/12/24 The forthcoming Hospice Care Accountability, Reform and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act from U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenaur (D-Oregon), if enacted, would implement a number of changes to medical review processes. ... Though the bill language is still in development, it will likely contain proposed updates to payment mechanisms for high-acuity palliative services, changes to the per-diem payment process and actions to improve quality and combat fraud. The bill would also implement a temporary, national moratorium on the enrollment of new hospices into Medicare, to help stem the tide of fraudulent activities among recently established providers concentrated primarily in California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada. ... Among the anticipated provisions of the bill would be an item requiring the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to use documentation in a patient’s medical record as supporting material. The documentation would include the reasons that an attending physician certified a patient for hospice and establish a six-month terminal prognosis.

How sales and marketing compensation can get hospices into hot waterHospice News, by Holly Vossel; 3/27/24Regulators are taking a closer look at how hospices pay their marketing and outreach workforces to curb fraudulent activity tied to referral streams. Federal and state regulatory agencies have systems in place to detect fraud, waste and abuse in hospice, and some are honing on oversight of sales, marketing and outreach staff payment arrangements, according to Ellen Persons, shareholder at Polsinelli Law Firm. 

Hospice CEO, Chief Compliance Officer Collaborations Key to QualityHospice NewsDecember 11, 2023The lines of communication between hospice leaders and compliance executives need to be open and transparent in today’s regulatory environment. ... The ability to both understand and navigate shifts in regulations requires a solid relationship between a hospice executive team and its compliance leaders, according to Avow Hospice President and CEO Jaysen Roa. To achieve this, compliance and senior executive teams should foster interlocking collaboration and careful communication, he stated in a recent Husch Blackwell podcast. “It’s having compliance be part of the fabric,” Roa said. “Whether it is redoing some policies and procedures, looking at our code of ethics or how we respond to audits ... it’s all these things that can be esoteric to us [leaders]. When speaking to peers, whether it’s the C-suite, leadership teams or the board, [it’s doing] it in a way where it’s relatable and they understand not only why it’s important, but also the impact of why we’re readying for this. [If] we’re not constantly learning, then that’s a problem—especially in an industry like ours where it’s dynamic and changing every single day.” ... Strong ties between compliance and executive teams are crucial, according to [Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President of Engagement, Kerri Ervin] Ervin. Having honest and transparent communication between compliance officers and hospice executives is key, she said. 

Why Are Nonprofit Hospitals Focused More on Dollars Than Patients?