[Updated] Trump administration suspends hospice Special Focus Program

[Updated] Trump administration suspends hospice Special Focus Program 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/14/25 
The Trump Administration has suspended implementation of the hospice Special Focus Program. Finalized in the 2024 home health payment rule, the program is designed to identify poor performing hospices, mandate quality improvement and in some cases impose additional penalties. However, stakeholders in the hospice space have contended that the agency’s methodology for selecting hospices for the program is deeply flawed. Notice of the suspension appeared [Friday, 2/14] on the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website.
Editor's note: Click here for "Hospice leaders applaud CMS’s decision to reevaluate Special Focus Program, call for meaningful reforms," posted 2/17/25.