Literature Review

4 in 5 doctors now work for ‘corporate entities’ as autonomy erodes Forbes; by Bruce Japsen; 9/8/26 Corporate entities now employ 82% of U.S. physicians, a trend eroding doctor autonomy, according to a new Physicians Advocacy Institute report. The survey reveals nearly half of doctors feel pressured to prioritize patient volume over optimal care. Furthermore, 63% encounter corporate barriers to out-of-network referrals, and 59% feel compelled to keep patients within their health system. PAI's CEO, Kelly Kenney, asserts that corporate owners' primary allegiance is to profits, not patients, directly restricting physicians' ability to ensure the best care.

2027 trends to watch: Distributed care will drive the next phase of healthcare delivery Definitive Healthcare; by Ethan Popowitz; 9/17/26 Healthcare delivery has never been confined to a single setting. But the number of places where patients can receive care, and the range of services available outside the hospital, have grown in recent years. Today, a single patient journey might include a primary care visit, diagnostic imaging at an outpatient center, a procedure at an ambulatory surgery center (ASC), a virtual follow-up, and remote monitoring from home. ... This more distributed model of healthcare delivery is being shaped by several forces at once, from advances in medical technology and economic pressures to workforce shortages and more. 

Nurse accused of ‘exorcism’ as nursing home resident’s 911 calls went unanswered for 34 minutes Yahoo!News; Olivia Richman; 9/12/26 A resident at a Pennsylvania nursing home called 911 at 2:53 a.m. and reported that a nurse was trying to kill people. Four calls and more than half an hour later, police finally reached the room. ... The grand jury report says the agency licensed practical nurse, Octavia Lasha Robinson, was standing over a hospice resident identified as E.B. when officers arrived on June 23, 2025. Robinson had her fingers pressed into the resident's mouth, while blood was visible on the resident's clothing and bedding and on items scattered around the room. The episode was described by witnesses as an attempt to drive demons from the resident. The report says Robinson repeatedly spoke about demonic possession as police took her into custody.

Central Illinois nursing home fined $25K by state after resident's death Pekin Daily Times, Perioa, IL; by Zach Roth; 9/6/26 A Canton nursing home was fined $25,000 after a resident died last year after being taken off medication that was prescribed to prevent blood clots. ... On March 31, 2025, a verbal order was given to stop providing Xarelto because the woman began hospice care one month prior. ... The care plan noted that she had a history of strokes and that medication needed to be provided as ordered by her doctor. ... The hospice's owner said that the power of attorney had contacted them after the woman had died asking about the medication situation, noting that they hadn't seen anything to show that her Xarelto had been discontinued. The hospice owner also said that they hadn't received an order from a hospice physician or nurse to discontinue it. Editor's Note: Details are more complex than space allows in the short summary above. A verbal order to stop a medication, without a documented physician directive or clear communications with the family, is a quiet risk hiding in plain sight at hospice transitions — one that can hasten death rather than ease it. Deprescribing has its place in end-of-life care, but only through structured, physician-ordered, shared decision-making. Does your hospice's process protect against this, or could it happen to one of your patients tomorrow? 

National Alliance VP: palliative care should occur throughout continuum Hospice News; podcast hosted by Jim Parker with Katie Wehri; 9/3/26 Palliative care should be offered via home health, but not only through home health. This is according to Katie Wehri, vice president for regulatory affairs, quality and compliance at the National Alliance for Care at Home. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently clarified in a proposed rule that palliative care is available via the home health benefit. Hospice News recently sat down with Wehri on the Elevate podcast to discuss the implications of this clarification for providers, as well as other avenues CMS could consider to expand palliative care.

Alzheimer’s blood test gets FDA clearance, but not CMS coverage Inside Health Policy, Washington, DC; by Jessica Karins; 9/2/26 A blood test aiming to help with early identification of Alzheimer’s disease, including in primary care settings, by detecting buildup in the brain of the key Alzheimer’s biomarker amyloid beta plague, has been cleared by FDA, but the test and others in its category are not yet covered by CMS or any Medicare Administrative Contractors, its developer confirmed, with MACs having to make an individual determination for each patient of whether payment for the test is appropriate.

NY Medicaid Revalidation and Enrollment Moratorium: immediate planning considerations for providers JDSupra; by Marc A. Antonucci; 8/20/26 New York Medicaid providers should prepare now for significant changes in provider enrollment oversight. The New York State Department of Health (DOH), following direction from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will require every Medicaid-enrolled provider in New York to complete revalidation over the next 24 months. The process will require coordination among compliance, operations, billing, finance, governance, and transaction teams. DOH will implement the State’s CMS-approved revalidation strategy through a phased schedule and the Provider Services Portal (PSP). Providers should expect electronic submission requirements, phased notices, detailed ownership and affiliation disclosures, and screening requirements. 

AARP is working to root out health care ageism AARP; by Megan O'Reilly; 7/27/26 ... In collaboration with the Gerontological Society of America, AARP launched a training program last year to help future health professionals recognize and stop age-based bias. Tested at 13 universities across the country with about 500 students, the program uses health care scenarios and practical tools that remind providers to listen first and treat people as individuals, not stereotypes. ... Additionally, AARP has pushed for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow Medicare to cover essential training for family caregivers. And we fought for a measure to assess hospitals’ commitment to improving care for older patients. We also collaborated with the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative to train ER personnel to recognize dementia symptoms. ...

How SNF upper payment limits can hurt hospices Hospice News; by Brandyn Simmons; 8/17/2 When it comes to healthcare — especially if it involves Medicare or Medicaid — one solution can lead to new problems. The Upper Payment Limit (UPL) program is no exception to this rule. Across the spectrum in healthcare, Medicaid reimbursements have typically been inadequate in covering all expenses for patient care. This is where the UPL comes in. Under this initiative, providers such as skilled nursing facilities (SNF) can receive a gap payment through Medicare to make up the difference. While this is a boon for SNFs, this can become a major headache for many hospice companies across the United States. ...

Palliative care consults for the oldest-old: A retrospective study of referral patterns, patient characteristics, and clinical outcomes Geriatric Nursing; by John Cameron, Kalli Stilos, Anita Chakraborty; 8/11/26Objective: This study describes the characteristics and outcomes of patients aged 90 and older (the oldest-old) receiving inpatient palliative care consultation at a tertiary care hospital, to identify gaps and opportunities to improve care. ... Conclusion: Referrals for specialist palliative care in the oldest-old occur late in hospitalization, predominantly among those with non-cancer illnesses and poor functional status. Systemic changes, including the use of prognostication tools and enhanced collaboration between geriatric and palliative care services, are needed. Nurses are pivotal in advocating for earlier advance care planning (ACP) and identifying patients who would benefit from timely palliative integration to ensure goal-concordant care.

New York imposes six-month moratorium on new home care agencies, adding to national trendMcKnights Home Care; by John Roszkowski; 8/3/26New York has become the latest state to impose a temporary moratorium on new Medicaid enrollments for home care agencies, joining a growing number of states and the federal government that have imposed similar moratoria amid concerns over fraud and waste. New York has become the latest state to impose a temporary moratorium on new Medicaid enrollments for home care agencies, joining a growing number of states and the federal government that have imposed similar moratoria amid concerns over fraud and waste.