National Alliance for Care at Home responds to the FY 2026 Hospice Proposed Rule 
National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandira, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 4/11/25 
The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement [Fri 4/11] in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Hospice Wage Index proposed rule, which proposes payment and regulatory updates under the Medicare hospice benefit. The proposed 2.4% payment update fails to adequately address the mounting financial pressures facing hospices nationwide. With escalating operational costs driven by inflation, workforce shortages, and rising expenses for supplies and services, the proposed payment increase would threaten the ability of hospices to sustainably provide quality end-of-life care. “The proposed payment update for FY 2026 falls short of what is needed to sustain high-quality hospice care,” said Dr. Steve Landers, CEO of the Alliance. “Without meaningful adjustments, hospices across the country will face serious challenges—jeopardizing access to care for terminally ill patients and placing added strain on families already facing the unimaginable. ..."

Closing the gap in end-of life care coverage: The role of nonprofits in policy advocacy 
Forbes; by James Dismond; 4/14/25
... As the demand for end-of-life care grows, so will the gap between the care that patients need and what they receive. ... Workforce shortages, restrictive regulations, outdated reimbursement models and misconceptions around hospice services are keeping millions of Americans from accessing quality hospice and palliative care services. ... These barriers disproportionately affect low-income families, rural communities and communities of color. ... Unlike for-profit entities, we can prioritize community needs over shareholders. We can prioritize patient well-being over profits—or, to say it more directly, we put people over profits. And I’ve seen firsthand how advocacy can drive progress. Nonprofits must engage in:

• Raising Awareness And Education: ...
• Lobbying And Legislative Engagement: ...
• Expanding Access: ...

DOJ’s lawsuit against Amedisys, UnitedHealth Group set for mediation 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 4/14/25 
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) will go to mediation on Aug. 18. The DOJ sued the two companies starting in November of last year to block the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum from acquiring Amedisys due to antitrust concerns. The case will now go to a mediation conference before a magistrate judge. ... DOJ’s chief concern is that the combination of the two companies would dampen competition in the hospice and home health space. Should the transaction proceed, Optum would control 30% or more of the home health or hospice services in eight states, according to the complaint. 

Karen Rubel of Nathan Adelson Hospice announces transition to President of Chapters Health West; Lori Townsend named as new Executive Director of the Las Vegas-based nonprofit hospice 
Nevada Business; by Nathan Adelson Hospice; 4/11/25 
Nathan Adelson Hospice, the leader in hospice and palliative care in southern Nevada, and its Board of Trustees announced today that President and CEO Karen Rubel has transitioned to become President of Chapters Health West, a newly launched division of Chapters Health System. As her new role gets underway, Nathan Adelson Hospice’s current Chief Nursing Officer Lori Townsend has been promoted to Executive Director of Nathan Adelson Hospice.

ECHO Health gifts $5 million to Quality of Life Campaign; Center for Community Engagement to be name 
Hospice of the Western Reserve, Cleveland, OH; Press Release; 4/10/25 
Hospice of the Western Reserve has received a historic $5 million gift to its Quality of Life capital campaign from ECHO Health, the Westlake-based company founded by the late Bill Davis. This transformative contribution, the largest single gift in the organization’s history, will accelerate the completion of its new Hospice Care & Community Center on Cleveland’s Lake Erie shore. ... In recognition of this gift, the facility’s Center for Community Engagement will be named in honor of Bill Davis. 

Brain activity before death: Do we see our lives flash? 
Time.News; interview with Dr. Eleanor Vance; 4/12/25 
What flashes through our minds in the final moments of life? Could it be an intense reel of our most cherished memories or a profound sense of calm? Recent studies suggest that the brain may not simply shut down at death; instead, it could be engaged in a powerful replay of life’s most significant moments, offering a glimpse into the mysteries of consciousness and the human experience.

CMS drops 5 proposed payment rules for 2026: 25 things to know
Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 4/11/25 
CMS has released proposed payment rules for inpatient and long-term care hospitals, hospices and inpatient rehabilitation, psychiatric and skilled nursing facilities in fiscal year 2026. Twenty-five things to know: ...

• Inpatient hospitals and long-term care hospitals ... (#1-4)
• Skilled nursing facilities ... (#5-7)
• Inpatient psychiatric facilities ... (#8-13)
• Hospices ... (#14-18)
• #18. The agency is seeking public comment on:
• Future quality measures focused on interoperability, nutrition and well-being
• Strategies for advancing digital quality measurement, including FHIR adoption
• Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (#19-25)

Community Catalyst leads national response against new rule that threatens health care access 
Community Catalyst, Boston, MA; by Jack Cardinal; 4/11/25 
Today, Community Catalyst organized hundreds of local, state and national partners to submit comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opposing a new proposed rule from the Trump administration that would make it harder and more expensive for people to buy their own insurance on Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces and increase their medical debt. ... The administration’s own estimates suggest that as many as 2 million people will lose their coverage under this proposal, ...

How ACOs think CMS should change the rules for value-based care
Modern Healthcare; by Bridget Early; 4/11/25
Providers participating in accountable care organizations and other value-based payment arrangements with Medicare have a wish list for the new team running the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services... These are three top priorities for value-based care program participants in 2025:

1. Recommit to value-based care: The industry seeks a refreshed strategy from CMS, or at least a signal of what its priorities are.
2. Sustainable financial model: ACOs and value-based care advocates think it’s critical to both long-standing and new participants to offer a stable financial model.
3. Reducing burden: ACOs and value-based care providers are asking CMS to reduce the administrative burden to participate in its payment models.

CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
CMS press release; 4/11/25
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking action to preserve the core mission of the Medicaid program by putting an end to spending that duplicates resources available through other federal and state programs or isn’t directly tied to healthcare services. Mounting expenditures, such as covering housekeeping for individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid or high-speed internet for rural healthcare providers, distracts from the core mission of Medicaid, and in some instances, serves as an overly-creative financing mechanism to skirt state budget responsibilities.

Why AI demands a new breed of leaders
MIT Sloan Management Review; by Faisal Hoque, Thomas H. Davenport, Erik Nelson; 4/9/25
Artificial intelligence is changing how humans and machines work together. But most organizations still focus on the technical aspect of AI implementation because their leadership structure does too. Companies need a new role, the chief innovation and transformation officer, to manage the profound cultural and organizational changes AI adoption brings. Here’s why forward-thinking organizations already have or plan to hire such leaders.

Lonely planet: How the world is fighting social isolation 
Medscape Medical News; by Deborah Brauser; 3/25/25 
Loneliness/social isolation isn’t just a transient emotion or situation, it’s turned into a global crisis with serious public health consequences. In 2023, then–US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, sounded the alarm, declaring loneliness an epidemic and citing seminal research equating its harmful effects to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The numbers tell a stark story: Recent research has linked chronic loneliness to depression, dementia, and even early death.
Editor's note: Pair this with our recent post, Risk factors for and health status of socially isolated adults.

One of Deserae Turner’s last wishes comes true as family, friends hold small horse show in her honor 
ABC-4 KTVX, Cache Valley, UT; by Trevor Myers; 4/12/25 
For six years, Deserae Turner rode horses and competed in shows alongside her siblings. In 2017, things changed after Deserae was shot in the head and began her journey of recovery. ... Deserae and her family had not been to another horse show since she was shot — that is, until Saturday, April 12. After a recent health complication, Deserae decided to enter hospice care, and one of her last wishes was to ride a horse and see a horse show again.

Health systems spend millions to reduce workplace violence 
Modern Healthcare; by Caroline Hudson; 4/14/25 
Health systems are spending millions of dollars ramping up security measures at their facilities to protect patients and staff. Many systems are hiring more officers, implementing weapons detection screenings and updating communication protocols. Executives said these efforts are a response to an uptick in workplace violence over the past several years, ranging from assaults on staff members to sexually aggressive comments and shootings. ... [A] 2022 report from the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing said workplace violence costs the U.S. approximately $151 billion per year, with most incidents occurring in healthcare and social services.

It's April 15, tax day. The federal tax code is over 74,000 pages long. But stick with it because after page 72,000, it gets really good. ~ Conan O'Brien