Literature Review

The Pennant Group to seek more hospice, home health deals in 2025 Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/7/24 The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) has a “robust pipeline” of potential acquisitions in the wings for 2025 across its home health and hospice and senior living business segments. For prospective deals, Pennant scouts for agencies that show strong promise for organic growth that have “talented” local leaders or entrepreneurs in place, according to CEO Brent Guerisoli. Pennant then leverages the resources in its platform to foster growth. “Developing local leaders remains at the heart of our operating model,” Guerisoli said in a Q3 earnings call. “As the talent and experience operations and clusters deepens with strong portfolio companies, our efforts throughout our footprint, we are able to more quickly improve new acquisitions and grow seasoned operations, thus the significant investment we have made in our leadership and development programs is the catalyst for enduring momentum.” Pennant is the holding company for a cluster of independent hospice, home health and senior living providers located across 13 states. Year to date, the company has added more than 60 CEOs to its portfolio agencies as well as 40 internal clinical leaders.

Choice Health at Home announces new credit facilities and the strategic acquisition of Accentra Home Health and Hospice News Channel Nebraska Southeast; Press Release; 11/6/24 Choice Health at Home (“Choice”), a leading multi-state operator of home health, hospice, private duty, and rehabilitation services providing care throughout the Southwestern US, is proud to announce the company’s most recent acquisition and newly expanded credit facilities for the future growth of the organization. On the transaction front, Choice announced its acquisition of Accentra Home Health and Hospice (“Accentra”), a multi-agency home health and hospice organization in the state of Oklahoma. The merger of Accentra with Choice’s already significant existing Oklahoma home health and hospice agencies will dramatically strengthen the company’s presence in Oklahoma and provide the infrastructure for a long-term strategic plan to cover more than 90% of the state’s urban and rural geographies.

Arden Home Health and Hospice partners with ADP to formally announce opening of Hattiesburg offices Accesswire; by Arden Home Health & Hospice; 11/4/24 Arden Home Health and Hospice is excited to announce the formal opening of its new corporate headquarters in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This marks a key milestone in the company's growth and success. The celebration, held on Friday, November 1, 2024, featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony in partnership with the Area Development Partnership (ADP). Under the leadership of Founder and CEO Abb Payne, Arden has experienced tremendous growth, having doubled the size of its workforce in just 11 short months. Payne emphasized the importance of this expansion, particularly for South Mississippi: "The opening of our Hattiesburg headquarters is more than just a brick-and-mortar event; it symbolizes a year of incredible growth and success. Our family's goal has always been to keep jobs in South Mississippi, and this new office represents our commitment to this region."

Longer hospice stays among dementia patients save Medicare dollars Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 11/4/24 Hospice utilization has tripled among patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) during the past two decades. The trend has ignited concerns about these patients’ lengths of stay, as well as praise for hospices’ cost-savings potential. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers analyzed Medicare fee-for-service claims spanning between 1999 and 2019, including data on hospice billing, patient enrollment, hospitalizations, health costs and chronic condition indicators. Roughly 14.7% of ADRD patients utilized hospices services in 2019, nearly triple the 4.4% of patients who received this care in 1999, according to the research, which was published in the National Bureau of Economic Research. The research compared billing claims among nonprofit and for-profit providers to explore spending associated with longer hospice stays among dementia patients. ...

BrightSpring CEO: Home health, hospice acquisitions offer ‘high return on investment’ Home Health Care News; by Audrie Martin; 11/1/24 The newest home-based care face on the public market, BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG), is making strides. The company announced a successful third quarter during its earnings call Friday. Leaders reported an overall increase in business and raised 2024 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. Provider service segment revenue grew across service lines for the Louisville, Kentucky-based company. This was primarily attributed to billable hours growth and its Rehab in Motion program supporting Medicare Part B outpatient rehab patients. ... “From an acquisition strategy perspective, I think it’s going to be consistent with what we’ve done over the past couple of years,” he said. “On the provider side, it’s been rehab, home health and hospice, and then home-based primary care as well. We currently have three or four very small tuck-ins for home health and hospice, which are high returns on investment. On the de novo side, it’s really on home health, hospice and rehab.”

Cigna considers Humana acquisition – What it means for the stocks MarketBeat; by Jea Yu; 10/29/24 There has been speculation of a massive merger in the medical sector between two massive health insurers. Specifically, the rumor is The Cigna Group NYSE: CI is interested in acquiring Humana Inc. NYSE: HUM. The conjecture caused both stocks to react, as Cigna stock fell 10% as the rumored surfaced on Oct. 18, 2024, and Humana stock remained relatively flat. Based on the reactions, the market doesn't see this as a favorable merger, and for good reason. While there are many potential synergies in a merger, assuming it passes the regulatory antitrust sniff test (which is a big "if"), there is also a major sticking point that sinks any possibility of it coming to fruition called Medicare Advantage (MA). 

Vitas, Big Bend, Heart to Heart, Family Hospice unveil new locations Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/25/24 

Healthcare trends & transactions Q3 2024 Bass, Berry & Sims; by Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC; 10/21/24 In the healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, while deal volumes varied across different sectors, by and large the sure and steady pace of deal volume in Q2 continued into Q3. Moreover, several positive developments in Q3—namely, the Federal Reserve (finally) cutting interest rates, the courts striking down the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) national ban on non-competes, and California Governor Newsom’s vetoing Assembly Bill 3129—may serve as the catalysts needed to boost activity as we head into the final stretch of 2024.

Gentiva reaches $19.4 million False Claims Act Settlement Policy & Medicine; by Thomas Sullivan; 10/15/24 Gentiva – formerly known as Kindred at Home – reached a $19.4 million settlement with the United States, resolving allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by holding on to overpayments for hospice services provided to patients who were ineligible to receive hospice benefits under various federal health care programs. Kindred is made up of entities that were previously part of an enterprise that did business through various subsidiaries as Kindred at Home. Kindred provided health care services, including hospice services, using various business names during the time periods relevant to the settlement. The settlement resolves allegations brought by the United States and the State of Tennessee against certain Kindred entities alleging that from 2010 until February 2020, the entities knowingly submitted (or caused to be submitted) false claims for hospice services to hospice patients in Tennessee and other states who were ineligible for Medicare or Medicaid hospice benefit because they were not terminally ill. The settlement further resolved allegations that the defendants improperly concealed or otherwise avoided the obligation to repay the hospice claims at issue. The settlement also resolves allegations that SouthernCare New Beacon – a subsidiary – allegedly violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by willfully paying remuneration to a consulting physician to induce Medicare beneficiary hospice referrals.

Family Hospice celebrates grand opening EIN Presswire, Gainesville, GA; by BPR International; 10/14/24 Family Hospice announces the grand opening of its new location in Gainesville. The community is invited to a grand opening celebration on Tuesday, October 22 ... The unveiling of the Gainesville location marks a significant milestone for Family Hospice, which is expanding its network of compassionate care services to better serve the community in northeast Georgia. Focusing on providing quality end-of-life care and support for patients and their families, Family Hospice is dedicated to enhancing the comfort and dignity of those facing terminal illnesses. “We are committed to providing compassionate end-of-life care for those facing a life-limiting illness,” said Robin Stanton, Chief Operating Officer of Family Hospice. “This new location allows us to expand our Family and reach patients and their families in the comfort of wherever they call home in Gainesville and surrounding counties.”

Compassus CEO Mike Asselta: Hospice, home health JVs crucial to growth Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/9/24 Home-based care provider Compassus has been on a growth trajectory for several years running – placing hospice and home health at the center of its strategic vision. Compassus provides home health, home infusion, palliative and hospice care across 30 states. The home-based provider also offers advanced care management and skilled nursing facility-at-home services. Joint ventures with health systems have been an important part of expanding Compassus’ footprint and reaching patients in need of greater support in the home, said CEO Michael Asselta. Hospice News recently sat down with Asselta to discuss the company’s growth plans after he stepped into his new role in May. ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

AccentCare sued by EEOC for pay discrimination, retaliationMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 10/1/24The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disclosed last week that it filed a lawsuit against AccentCare, a national provider of home health, personal care and hospice services, alleging wage discrimination and retaliation against workers.

Inside palliative care at Contessa’s Health System joint ventures Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/27/24 Contessa, the innovation and high-acuity arm of Amedisys Inc. has made large investments in expanding access to palliative care, particularly through joint ventures with health systems. Amedisys acquired Contessa in 2021 for $250 million. The subsidiary’s specialty is high-acuity care in the home, including hospital-at-home and skilled nursing facility-at-home programs, but in recent years it has also leaned hard into growing its palliative care business. For now, Amedisys shows no signs of slowing down on palliative care. Expanding palliative care relationships and joint venture partnerships is a priority for 2024, the Louisiana-based home health and hospice provider indicated in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year.