Literature Review

Hospice News’ 10 most-read stories of 2025 Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/19/25 Large acquisitions, regulatory headwinds and the fate of COVID-era telehealth flexibilities were top-of-mind issues for hospice providers in 2025, as evidenced by the 10 most-read Hospice News stories of the year. ... The following are the 10 most-read Hospice News articles of 2025.

Seven-figure estate gift bolsters hospice care: Madeline Childs' generous bequest honors her late husband Hometown News, Rockledge, FL; Press Release; 12/7/25 The Health First Foundation is honored to announce a transformational seven-figure planned gift from the late Madeline Childs to support the William Childs Hospice House in Palm Bay and Hospice of Health First’s inpatient hospice programs. Madeline’s final act of generosity reflects a commitment that began more than two decades ago. In 2002, her husband, Bill, received hospice care during his final days. The experience was brief, but it left a lasting imprint on her. Out of that moment of personal loss, Madeline chose to give back by establishing an irrevocable estate gift that would ultimately lead to the naming of the William Childs Hospice House in Bill’s memory.

Hospice Insights podcast - Hospital to Hospice: Managing referrals and relationships JD Supra; by Bryan Nowicki and Meg Pekarske, Husch Blackwell LLP; 12/17/24 A common referral scenario involves hospital clinicians referring a dying patient to hospice. This circumstance gives rise to questions relating to hospice eligibility, the appropriate level of hospice care, and the expectation of the patient and the hospital. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske and Bryan Nowicki address these questions and provide insights into effectively managing this situation.

Hospice of North Idaho appoints new executive director Bonner County Daily Bee; 12/16/25 Hospice of North Idaho announced that Shawna Cauley, MHA, RN, has been appointed executive director. ... Cauley brings extensive healthcare leadership experience and a deep commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care, a press release said. With a strong clinical background and a master of healthcare administration, she has been a trusted leader within the organization. 

A legacy of care: How Good Shepherd has served Newton for nearly 50 yearsFig City News, Newton, MA; by Parker Maslowski; 12/15/25 … The story of Good Shepherd began, fittingly, with an act of compassion that crossed an ocean. In the late 1970s, members of the Parish of the Good Shepherd learned about the revolutionary hospice movement emerging in England. … A group of parishioners believed Newton needed something similar. … Newton-Wellesley Hospital donated office space in the Ellison Building. The small program assembled a core team of nurses, a physician, social workers, and volunteers who provided direct patient support, administrative help, and fundraising. And the Hospice of the Good Shepherd opened its doors in the fall of 1979 – the first hospice in Massachusetts. 

Southern Care Collaborative a model for regional hospice collectives Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/12/25 As nonprofits seek to build scale in order to compete with larger competitors, some are banding together in regional collaboratives. In these efforts, the Southern Care Collaborative, founded in 2022, could serve as a model. The organization includes 11 hospice members operating in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The hospices are pooling resources and joining forces to build economies of scale and payer relationships without any change in ownership. 

Hospice of Wichita Falls expands outreach with renovated facility CBS News-6, Wichita Falls, TX; by Rachel Gomez Ramirez; 12/12/25 Today [12/12/25], Hospice of Wichita Falls held an open house showcasing their newly renovated facility, built by and for the community. Isha Howerton, Director of Development for Hospice of Wichita Falls, explained that the Building on a Legacy of Care fundraiser campaign initially began in 2017 and is nearing completion. Through this campaign, the community raised $15 million to build a new inpatient care center and renovate the existing one. Today’s event marked the new facility’s final renovation phase. ... [Additionally, by] meeting their campaign goal of $340,000, the non-profit hospice can continue to support charity care for those who need end-of-life care.

Providence Care appoints Werner Freymann, Jr. as new Chief Executive Officer Morningstar; by Business Wire; 12/10/25 Providence Care, a leading hospice, palliative and primary care for seniors organization, today announced the appointment of Werner Freymann, Jr. as its new Chief Executive Officer. In the role of CEO, Werner will lead the company’s strategic direction and drive continued growth and innovation across its continuum of care for the elderly wherever they call home. Mr. Freymann brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, previously serving as SVP of Discovery at Home. 

Solvay gets nearly 45K from Super One’s register round-up Fox 21 Local News, Duluth, MN; by Jadie Jones; 12/10/25 Super One raised nearly 45 thousand dollars for Solvay Hospice House. These funds were raised during their recent register round up campaign where customers could choose to round up their change or donate more when checking out. This campaign was at 19 regional stores. Solvay has been a register roundup participant for 18 years now, raising more than 373 thousand in total.

Court approves Justice Department’s settlement in UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys merger Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice; Press Release; 12/10/25 The settlement requires the largest divestiture of outpatient healthcare services to resolve a merger challenge (by number of facilities) and imposes a $1.1M civil penalty for false certification. The United States District Court for the District of Maryland today [12/10/25] entered the Final Judgment proposed by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, together with its state co-Plaintiffs, requiring broad divestitures to resolve Plaintiffs’ challenge to UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s (UnitedHealth) $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys Inc. In addition, Amedisys must pay a $1.1 million civil penalty to the United States for falsely certifying that it had provided “true, correct, and complete” responses under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. ... The settlement requires UnitedHealth and Amedisys to divest at least 164 home health and hospice locations (including one affiliated palliative care facility) across 19 states, accounting for approximately $528 million in annual revenue.

VITAS Hospice Services faces serious data breach investigation Investors Hangout; by Evelyn Baker; 12/9/25 ... In a significant turn of events, VITAS Hospice Services, LLC, the largest for-profit hospice chain in the United States, is facing scrutiny due to a massive data breach. Recent investigations revealed that sensitive information of 319,177 patients was compromised, raising concerns over data security and patient privacy. As investigations continue, more details about the breach are emerging, prompting calls for accountability from the company.

Quality comes from within, with Andrew Reed Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Andrew Reed; 12/10/25In our latest crossover episode TCNtalks and Anatomy Of Leadership, Andrew Reed, CEO and Chief Teaching Officer of Multi-View Incorporated, shares his journey as a recording artist with Universal Virgin Music Groups and his experiences in the music industry.  Andrew makes a bold case: profit should follow purpose, not push it around.  When leaders chase “more” at all costs, bad profits appear and training, standards, and trust all erode.  When teams build sustainable systems and teach rigor with heart, margin becomes a reliable barometer rather than the goal. 

Hospice margins dropping despite utilization gains Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/9/25 Hospice margins are falling despite record-high utilization, according to data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The commission has released its draft recommendations to Congress, repeating its annual call to eliminate hospice payment rate increases in future years. “For fiscal year, 2027, Congress should eliminate the update to the 2026 Medicare base payment rate for hospice,” MedPAC indicated in its draft recommendations. ... The average Medicare fee-for-service margin for hospices fell to 8% in 2023, down from 9.8% in 2022 and 14.2% in 2020, according to MedPAC. Among for-profit providers, the average 2023 margin was 13.7%, whereas nonprofits in aggregate showed a loss at -1.3%. These numbers exclude cap overpayments and non-reimbursible costs.