Alliance Sees Hospice CARE Act as Opportunity to Advance Hospice Benefit Discussion

By:

On Wednesday, September 25, 2026, Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) introduced the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement Act (Hospice CARE Act). In addition, Rep. Blumenauer published an overview and section-by-section summary. The Hospice CARE Act focuses on hospice sweeping payment reform and broad program integrity measures. The bill includes some themes similar to the Alliance’s […]

Read More

Alliance Sees Hospice CARE Act as Opportunity to Advance Hospice Benefit Discussion

By:

(Alexandria, VA and Washington, D.C.) — The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), a new national organization formed by the integration of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) recognizes the introduction of the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (CARE) Act, by Congressman […]

Read More

Hospice Certifying Physician Claims Edit Update

By:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated the Hospice Certifying Enrollment Questions and Answers (Q & A) Document and Change Request (CR) 13531, both dealing with the hospice certifying physician enrollment requirement. This requirement, established via the FY2024 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update final rule, conditions Medicare payment of hospice […]

Read More

Hospice Medicare FY2025 Pricer & Medicaid Rates Now Available

By:

Beginning October 1, 2024, hospice base payment rates will increase by 2.9 percent, as published in the final FY 2025 Hospice Payment Rule.  As is customary, the Medicaid program waits until Medicare rates are finalized to issue guidance on the applicable corresponding hospice payment rates. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicaid Financial Management […]

Read More

CMS Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum Summary

By:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held a Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum on September 17, 2024.  Below is a summary of the Forum for those unable to attend. HOME HEALTH The first Annual Performance Report (APR) for the Home Health Value Based Purchasing (HHVBP) program was posted in August.  […]

Read More

Final HOPE Materials Released

By:

Hospices will begin completing the Hospice Outcome & Patient Evaluation (HOPE) on October 1, 2025. The final HOPE item sets – HOPE Admission v1.00, HOPE Update Visit (HUV) v1.00, HOPE Discharge v1.00 and HOPE ALL Item v1.00 – and accompanying HOPE Guidance Manual v1.00 were released on September 16, 2024.  These documents can be accessed […]

Read More

Hospice Benefit: Expanding Prepayment Review in 4 States

By:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it is going to conduct prepayment medical review of hospice claims in four states – California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada.  The announcement, which was through the MLN Connects newsletter, states that CMS is conducting the reviews to combat fraud, waste, and abuse under the […]

Read More

Hospice Education at the 2024 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo, Part 2

By:

The 2024 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo will feature over 50 educational sessions, each one led by recognized experts in their field who are up to date on the latest developments in home health, home care, hospice, and palliative care. From clinical to financial, this conference has you covered. Let’s look at some of […]

Read More

Hospice Quality Reporting Update

By:

Providers can now access the latest Provider Preview Reports via the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) application. Once released in CASPER, providers will have 30 days during which to review their quality measure results. Although the actual “preview period” is 30 days, the reports will continue to be available for another 30 days, […]

Read More