A government lawsuit and a memorandum from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General raise questions about the two most expensive types of hospice care.
Hospices will reap a 1.1% increase in Medicare payments in fiscal year 2014, according to a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The number of people dying in hospitals decreased 8% from 2000 to 2010 even as overall hospitalizations rose, suggesting nursing homes, hospices and home health providers are playing larger roles in end-of-life care. These numbers appeared in a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
April 18, 2013
When it comes to talk about palliative care and rehospitalizations, what should a provider do when the family is insistent on sending their loved one back to the hospital?
Palliative care should follow care coordination and quality improvement processes called for by the Affordable Care Act, according to updated guidelines from the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care.
April 08, 2013
The government should consider Medicare payment cuts for hospice services provided in skilled nursing facilities, according to Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) commissioners. A reduction of 3% to 5% is reasonable, MedPAC says, based on a formula that assumes "equal provision of aide visits" in home and facility settings, and accounts for the labor costs of these two types of care.
Increasing hospice enrollment would save the Medicare program millions of dollars annually, according to a new report.
The number of people dying in hospitals decreased 8% between 2000-2010 even as overall hospitalizations rose, suggesting nursing homes, hospices and home health providers are playing larger roles in end-of-life care. These numbers appeared in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Wednesday.
Recently introduced bills in the House and Senate seek to strengthen palliative and hospice care by expanding education programs and providing fellowships for healthcare professionals to train in these areas.
Two hospice providers and their parent company recently agreed to a $12 million settlement with the federal government in a whistleblower case over Medicare claims.
Increasing hospice enrollment would improve care for beneficiaries while saving the Medicare program millions of dollars annually, according to a study in the March issue of Health Affairs.
A stolen laptop has resulted in an Idaho hospice organization paying the Department of Health and Human Services $50,000.
January 31, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should exclude certain patients, including those in hospice and or with end-stage renal disease, when evaluating the payment structure for heart attacks, the American Hospital Association proposed in a letter Tuesday.
The Medicare payment rate for hospices should not increase in 2014, according to recommendations to Congress announced Monday by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commision (MedPAC).
Despite the fact that hospice is one of the fastest growing parts of Medicare, 78% of surveyed hospice operators turned away patients with the potential for high-costing care, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.
A Medicare rule may have an opposite effect and lead to more aggressive end-of-life treatment according to a new analysis of patient outcomes.
October 30, 2012
Hospitalizations of frail nursing home residents can result in higher costs, complications, and death. Fifteen percent of long-term nursing home residents are hospitalized in any given six-month period, and 40% of these admissions are considered inappropriate
October 23, 2012
It was a good — no, a great — day for Atul Gawande groupies Monday at the LeadingAge annual meeting in Denver.
Palliative and hospice care should be included in Medicare's nursing home benefits, according to authors of a new study.
The federal government has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against a Florida hospice over what it says were fraudulent Medicare payments, the Department of Justice announced.
August 23, 2012
There are few things I loathe more in the world than ice-breaking, "getting-to-know-you games." The problem is, though, I'm exactly the kind of person who often needs an icebreaker to get a conversation started, especially for conversations that are difficult to have.
Medicare payments to hospice providers had a slight boost in 2013, according to a regulator notice released Tuesday. These providers also should be preparing to report quality data and additional diagnosis on hospice claims.
July 05, 2012
Medicare appears to have paid pharmacies twice for medications taken by hospice beneficiaries, a government report found.
While enrollment in hospice is soaring, nonwhite Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure are 20% less likely to use hospice, a new study finds.
May 15, 2012
Wealthy seniors should pay more in Medicare premiums, according to a brief from the conservative Heritage Foundation.
May 08, 2012
Long-term care providers should hone in on the changing needs of their market by embracing what customers want and will pay for, and by working to change the profession's image problem, LTC executives said Monday.
April 17, 2012
As the number of people who choose nursing homes for end-of-life care continues to rise, more quality measures are needed to help consumers judge quality, a new study recommends.
Senior citizens who receive Social Security benefits cannot opt out of Medicare and rely solely on private insurance, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
January 05, 2012
Hospice company AseraCare allegedly defrauded Medicare by cycling beneficiaries through nursing homes and hospice care, according to a whistle-blower suit announced this week.
Maryland healthcare professionals will soon be required to complete a form outlining a patient's end-of-life wishes upon admission to a long-term care facility, according to a new regulation.
