Literature Review

Medical schools report steep drop in enrollment of Black and Hispanic students after Supreme Court ruling STAT; by Usha Lee McFarling; 1/9/25Enrollment of Black and Hispanic students in medical schools dropped precipitously last year after the Supreme Court banned the consideration of race in admissions, according to data released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The number of Black enrollees fell by 11.6% compared to last year, while the number of Hispanic enrollees decreased 10.8%. The numbers were even starker for Indigenous students; the number of American Indian or Alaska Natives dropped by 22.1%, while students who were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders dropped by 4.3%. 

The Alliance celebrates the Dole Act becoming law, protecting burial benefits for veteransNational Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 1/7/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement in response to President Biden signing S. 141, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, into law on Thursday, January 2. This landmark legislation includes Section 301, Gerald’s Law, which addresses a critical gap in benefits for Veterans. Gerald’s Law ensures that families of terminally-ill Veterans receiving Veterans Affairs (VA)-furnished hospice care—whether at home, in a nursing home, or in another non-VA setting—retain access to their full VA burial allowance. “We are deeply grateful for the bipartisan support of Gerald’s Law and its inclusion in the Dole Act,” said Dr. Steve Landers, CEO for the Alliance. “This legislation ensures that Veterans and their families can choose hospice care in the setting that best meets their needs without risking the loss of crucial burial benefits. We thank Senators Moran, Tester, and Hassan, Representatives Ciscomani, Bost, Brownley, and Takano, and many others for their leadership, as well as President Biden for signing this important bill into law.”

High-risk opioid prescribing and nurse practitioner independenceJAMA Health Forum; Lucas D. Cusimano, BS; Nicole Maestas, MPP, PhD; 12/24In 2021, more than 1 in 5 opioid overdose deaths were attributed to prescription opioids in the US, and the rate of such deaths has increased 5-fold since 1999. Concerns around excessive opioid prescribing have been used to argue against the expansion of the scope of practice of nurse practitioners (NPs) ... In this difference-in-differences analysis of opioid prescribing in 16 states, there was no change in the rates of high-risk opioid prescribing in the 6 states that adopted nurse practitioner independence compared with 10 nonadopting neighboring states during the 24 months following adoption. The study found no association between legislation that granted independence to nurse practitioners and rates of risky opioid prescribing. 

Oregon will review Providence's handoff of hospice, home health to private equity-backed firm The Lund Report; by Nick Budnick; 12/17/24Providence Health’s plan to hand over hospice and home health services affecting thousands of patients to private equity-backed Compassus Health will undergo state review following questions raised by the Oregon Nurses Association, workers and members of the public. ... Now, after the Oregon Nurses Association sent a letter to the health authority’s director, Sejal Hathi, and members of the public weighed in with public comment, the Oregon Health Authority has decided to review the joint venture to see if it will hurt costs of care, access or employment and working conditions. The health authority’s decision to wade in on the latest deal is significant because the merger affects thousands of patients across multiple states, and yet Oregon has stronger legal authority than most states to stop it. The decision by the health authority represents the highest-profile known instance in which the agency has stepped in to require companies to formally apply for approval after they’d previously opted not to. 

Beshear unveils paid leave plan for state workers with new child or serious illness Spectrum News 1, Frankfort, KY; by Associated Press; 12/12/24 Kentucky plans to provide state employees with paid time off so they can bond with a new child or deal with a serious medical situation, Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., said Thursday. The added benefit will give state executive branch workers up to six weeks of paid leave, available in three intervals during an employee's career, the governor said. New hires will immediately become eligible for six weeks of paid time off, he said. Another six weeks of paid leave will be offered two more times: once employees reach 10 years of service and again at 20 years. 

Delaware Court of Chancery awards damages and other relief to Encompass Health and Enhabit for misconduct by April Anthony, other former officers, and private equity firms Vistria Group and Nautic Partners Associated Press (AP) - Business Wire, Birmingham, AL and Dallas, TX; 12/4/24 On Monday, Encompass Health and Enhabit won their lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery related to breaches of fiduciary duty by April Anthony, Luke James, and Chris Walker while they served as the senior officers at Encompass Health’s former home health and hospice division, which is now Enhabit. The Court awarded judgment against private equity firms Vistria Group and Nautic Partners and the home health and hospice business now known as VitalCaring Group for aiding and abetting “the egregious breaches of the duty of loyalty” by Anthony, James, and Walker. The case was the subject of a 7-day trial in December 2023. After considering “the damning record presented at trial,” the Court found that, while employed by Encompass Health, Anthony, James, and Walker usurped acquisition opportunities falling within Encompass Health’s line of business, used Encompass Health’s confidential information, and swayed key Encompass Health employees to join them with the promise of equity in the home health and hospice competitor that Anthony now heads. 

Court Orders VitalCaring to place 43% of profits into trust for Encompass Health Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/3/24 A federal judge in Delaware has ordered home health and hospice provider VitalCaring Group and its private equity backers to share future profits with Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC). The case has a long circuitous history that dates back to 2022 when Encompass Health spinned off its home health and hospice business as a standalone company, now known as Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) brand. At the time, VitalCaring CEO April Anthony was CEO of the Encompass home-based case segment. “Encompass is entitled to one recovery,” a court opinion indicated. “That recovery takes the form of an equitable payment stream of VitalCaring’s future profits to be administered via a constructive trust, certain mitigation damages, and attorneys’ fee.” The court ordered that 43% of VitalCaring’s future profits be placed in trust to benefit Encompass. The remaining 57% would go to VitalCaring’s private equity backers, the Vistria Group and Nautic Partners.

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.”

Arrest warrant issued gor a California hospice care executive PRLog - Press Release Distribution, Los Angeles, CA; 11/8/24 The Superior Court of California in Los Angeles has issued a Bench Warrant for the arrest of Darline Singh, owner of Zola Hospice LLC, and associated with numerous other hospice companies throughout the state. Singh failed to appear in court on 9/12/2024 and on 10/24/2024 for a judgment debtor exam stemming from a $15MM judgment against Singh, Zola Hospice LLC, and E&E Hospice, LLC. Darline Singh's resume indicates she has a degree in Chemical engineering from UC Davis, AI Machine learning at MIT, as well as Harvard University. Her work experience highlights consulting and executive roles at Brookdale Senior Living, ACE Hospice, Suncrest Healthcare, Vitas Healthcare, Kindred Healthcare, and Bridge Hospice. In March of 2022 Acting California State Auditor, Michael S. Tilden, reported in a letter to the Governor, "my office conducted an audit of the State's licensure and oversight of hospice agencies and found that the State's weak controls have created the opportunity for large-scale fraud and abuse. We identified numerous indicators of such fraud and abuse by hospice agencies."

Pennsylvania LPNs will now be able to make death pronouncements Tri-State Alert; 11/4/24 A bill sponsored by Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-27) was signed into law this week to enable licensed practical nurses (LPNs) working in a hospice setting to make death pronouncements. “I am grateful for the governor’s support of this important legislation,” Culver said. “LPNs are with patients and their families until the moment of death, providing essential care during emotional times. Allowing LPNs to make death pronouncements, which was previously only a function of doctors, RNs, physician assistants, and coroners, can alleviate wait times that grieving families often experience.” The bill was amended in the House of Representatives to also provide needed clarification on the waiver of birth and death certificate fees for members of the armed services, veterans, and their families. The law now outlines specifically whose documents qualify for the waiver, as well as applicants and scenarios for which the fee may be waived. 

Lawsuit filed against Visiting Nurse Service entities and individual defendant for assault of hospice patient NewRamp; by NewRamp Editorial Staff; 10/22/24 The Law Offices of Robert E. Brown has filed a lawsuit against three Visiting Nurse Service entities and individual defendant Joy Odunze-Matthew following the violent assault of Carolyn Albanese, a terminally ill hospice patient under their care. The complaint alleges gross negligence by VNS and its affiliates for failing to properly vet, train, and supervise their staff, specifically the defendant Odunze-Matthew. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages to address the physical, emotional, and psychological harm suffered by Ms. Albanese and her family. 

Governor vetoes private equity bill that would have affected healthcare transactionsMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 10/1/24California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have required private equity firms and hedge fund organizations in the state to provide advance notice to the state’s attorney general of acquisitions or changes in control. The bill would have given the attorney general authority to grant, deny or impose conditions on a proposed transaction, after determining the likelihood of anticompetitive effects, “including a substantial risk of lessening competition or of tending to create a monopoly, or may create a significant effect on the access or availability of healthcare services to the affected community.” The governor’s veto “was a surprise to many in the healthcare industry,” Arent Fox Schiff attorneys wrote for the National Law Review.

NY home care agency pays $400K in racial prejudice lawsuit A home care agency in Brooklyn, NY, was ordered to pay $400,000 to settle a race and national origin discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ACARE HHC Inc., doing business as Four Seasons Licensed Home Health Care Agency, routinely assigned home health aides based on clients’ racial preferences, according to a consent order filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. These workers, which included Black and Hispanic aides, would either be transferred to new client assignments based on clients’ wishes or lose their employment entirely, EEOC found. These practices were a violation of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers from making job assignments based on workers’ race or national origin. Four Seasons will pay $400,000 in monetary relief for the home health aides affected, according to the consent order. It will also update its internal policies and training processes related to Civil Rights Act requirements, cease making home health aide assignments based on clients’ race or nationality preferences, and provide semi-annual reports to the EEOC regarding any reports or complaints surrounding race discrimination.