Literature Review

h/care acquires home health, hospice provider VNA of Ohio Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/4/25 The health care management organization h/care has acquired the home health and hospice provider Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio (VNA). Financial terms were undisclosed. VNA was established in 1902 by 13 women seeking to provide care to the seriously ill. The organization has been considering a sale for some time, according to Ryan Haller, CEO and founding principal of h/care. The two companies connected through mutual industry relationships, Haller said. 

Ethics talk: Are private equity investments really different from other ownership structures in health care?AMA Journal of Ethics, Podcast May 2025; by Robert I. Field, PhD, JD, MPH; 5/30/25Dr. Robert I. Field joins Ethics Talk to discuss whether and to what extent private equity firms’ increasing presence in health care deserves our scrutiny and what policy makers, clinicians, and patients should know about responding to private equity ownership stakes in the organizations where they work and where they go for health services. 

BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ:BTSG) Q1 earnings: Leading the senior health, home health & hospice pack StockStory; by Jabin Bastian; 5/22/25 The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ:BTSG) and the rest of the senior health, home health & hospice stocks fared in Q1. ... The 7 senior health, home health & hospice stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3%. ... 

Hospice propelling growth for publicly traded home-based care companies Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/23/25Hospice has emerged as a growth engine for publicly traded home-based care companies, several of which are on the hunt for acquisitions. Hospice has buoyed growth for several companies as they battle home health-related headwinds, including reimbursement pressures. Companies like VITAS Healthcare (NYSE: CHE), which only provide hospice and palliative care, also saw substantial growth. ... VITAS attributes the revenue growth to an 11.9% increase in days-of-care and a geographically weighted average Medicare reimbursement rate increase of approximately 3.2%. Hospice is also fueling growth at Addus Homecare (Nasdaq: ADUS). ... Similar trends exist for other publicly traded companies, including Aveanna Healthcare (Nasdaq: AVAH), Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB), The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) and BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG).

New York bill aims to ban new for-profit hospices amid fraud concerns CBS WRGB-6, Albany, NY; by Lara Bryn; 5/14/25 A new bill awaiting the governor's signature could ban the establishment of new for-profit hospices in New York, a move lawmakers and industry experts say is necessary to improve care quality and prevent potential fraud. ... The bill has already passed in both the state Senate and House. The push for this legislation comes in part due to findings from national studies by the American Medical Association and ProPublica, which highlighted issues in for-profit hospice care. ... Jeanne Chirico, CEO of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State, said, "To try and make a quick turnaround of profit either through falsifying eligibility records or by fraudulently submitting records for individuals who never even knew they were on hospice." Chirico noted a case where a New York Medicare recipient was unknowingly enrolled in a hospice-certified program based in California. 

Addressing workforce challenges: Hospice in the news, April 2025 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 5/7/25 What defines quality in end-of-life care?  How are Hospice organizations navigating workforce challenges?  And why has medical aid in dying become such a critical conversation?  These questions take center stage in this data-driven exploration of April's most impactful Hospice and Palliative Care news stories. In this episode of TCNtalks, Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner discuss the top news stories from April, focusing on Hospice and Palliative Care.  They explore personal aspirations, data insights, the impact of spiritual care, emerging categories in news reporting, and key themes such as reimbursement and workforce challenges.  The conversation also touches on mission moments, regulatory changes, technology innovations, and the evolving nature of leadership in healthcare, particularly in the context of AI and human skills. ... Cordt closes the show with a Master's Class reviewing the National Hospice Locator, a valuable tool for finding high-quality Hospice Care anywhere in the country.

Amedisys deal would bring BrightSpring into range of new marketsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/5/25 ... Amedisys is selling an unspecified number of home health and hospice locations to Adoration Home Health Acquisitions, LLC, Adoration Hospice Care Acquisitions, LLC, and Senescence, LLC, DBA All Saints Hospice. These three companies are all affiliates of BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG). ... Few details about the Amedisys-BrightSpring transaction are available due to confidentiality agreements among the parties, according to BrightSpring CEO Jon Rousseau. However, the acquired locations could greatly expand the company’s service region. ... BrightSpring is a home- and community-based health care services platform that serves more than 400,000 patients daily across all 50 states. ... BrightSpring’s provider services segment brought in $346 million in revenue during Q1, up 12.5% year over year. The segment includes the company’s home health, rehab services and personal care businesses. Its home health business is inclusive of hospice and home-based primary care. ... Looking ahead, the company plans to be conservative when it comes to acquisitions beyond the potential Amedisys deal, according to [Bright Spring CEO Jon] Rousseau.

Top 50 Hospice Providers report now availableHospice News - Flagship Report; 4/30/25The hospice sector has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Once a nonprofit, volunteer-driven movement, the industry is now a landscape dominated by for-profit entities, private equity, and publicly traded companies. This shift is reshaping care delivery, reimbursement models, and the competition that exists in end-of-life care. Hospice News partnered with Hospice Analytics to rank the largest hospice chains by 2023 Medicare claims. Using proprietary data, including Medicare payments and SEC filings, the report tracks changes in ownership and acquisitions, offering a comprehensive view of the industry landscape. Dive into the data and insights to better understand the evolving dynamics of the hospice industry.Editor's note: The "top" hospice providers is based on the size of chains, not on quality scores. Hospice Analytics--partner for this project--provides quality scores for these through its National Hospice Locator. (Hospice Analytics is a sponsor for this newsletter.)

Covenant Health transaction a growth engine for VITAS Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 4/28/25 Vitas Healthcare’s 2024 purchase of Covenant Health and Community Services is helping to drive the company’s growth. VITAS acquired Covenant last year for $85 million. The transaction included Covenant’s hospice assets and marked an important milestone for VITAS, including its entry into the assisted living space and in the Alabama market while expanding its geographic footprint across Florida. 

Bristol Hospice expands, rebrands palliative care program Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 4/25/25 Bristol Hospice has expanded and rebranded its palliative care program amid rising demand for these services. The hospice provider on Wednesday launched the Bristol Palliative Care program, designed to support seriously ill patients with chronic or life-limiting conditions. Formerly the Advanced Illness Management (AIM) program, the rebranding reflects the hospice’s enhanced patient-centered services and sprawling geographic footprint.

Providence's push to hand off hospice, home care in Oregon to Tennessee firm gets closer look The Lund Report - Independent health news for Oregon and SW Washington; by Jake Thomas; 4/22/25 Providence Health, Oregon’s biggest provider of home health and hospice services, wants to put a private equity-backed company in charge of those operations. But the plan could negatively affect the care of thousands of Oregonians, according to a new state report. The program that reviews large health care mergers and other deals has launched a six-month review of Providence’s proposed transaction with Tennessee-based Compassus and issued an initial report that analyzed the potential effects. Compassus is partly owned by private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P. ... Under the new 180-day review, the state will conduct a more in-depth evaluation of the deal and its potential effects on costs, care quality, access and workplace conditions. That’s in keeping with the 2021 law creating the program, which is considered the nation’s toughest.

Coming Soon: Vitas Healthcare in Marion County South Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report, Ocala, FL; by cfelixcpa; 4/20/25 Florida is home to one of the country’s largest aging populations, with adults 65 and older making up 22 percent of its residents. As demand for hospice services rises statewide, VITAS Healthcare ... is expanding into Marion County. Beginning May 15, VITAS will accept patient referrals in the new service area. ... “Expanding into Marion County reflects VITAS’ ongoing commitment to improving access to high-quality hospice services for more Florida families,” said Angela Hamrick, vice president of operations.