Hospice
Rising Per Patient Costs Spur Calls for Higher Hospice Pay Rates
An overwhelming majority of hospice providers have seen costs of patient care rise 3% to 10% since 2019, and many expect further increases next year. This is prompting calls for Medicare to reconsider proposed 2023 reimbursement rates. Specifically, close to 98% of respondents to a May survey of National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) […]
Read MoreHospital, Health System Activity a ‘Very Disruptive Point’ in Hospice M&A Landscape
More hospitals and health systems are stepping into the home-based hospice space, often seeing joint ventures as a promising route to a return on their investment. While there are several factors driving facility-based health care organizations to eye home-based care, more than anything, hospices and other providers should simply be aware that the “normal” look […]
Read MoreThe Case for Integrating Social Determinants Into Palliative Care
Individually, palliative care and social determinants programs both have the potential to improve quality of life and reduce costs — but that potential may be greater when the two are combined. Social determinants are non-medical needs that can have a significant impact on the trajectory of patients’ health, such as nutrition, transportation, social or caregiver […]
Read MoreStandardizing Home-Based Palliative Care: Necessary, Doable, and Fruitful
How palliative care clinicians and payers in California worked together to reduce unwanted variation and confusion in home-based palliative care. When health plans and palliative care clinicians come together about contracting, progress can be slow before things even get started. It can take months of discussion just to come to an agreement on what home-based […]
Read MoreUS Senators Call on CMS to Boost Palliative Care Resources
A bipartisan group of nine U.S. Senators have written to U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, calling for a payment model demonstration designed to support greater access to palliative care. The lawmakers urged the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a dedicated community-based palliative care benefit, which […]
Read MoreStudy reveals disparities in end-of-life care for children with cancer
Emily E. Johnston, MD, MS, prides herself on being there for her pediatric oncology patients at every step of their cancer journeys. However, she doesn’t believe that socioeconomic factors should dictate where those journeys end. “One of the reasons I love pediatric oncology is that, as a clinician, I get to see families through so much, from […]
Read MoreEstate Planning: A Gift to Those Left Behind
Upon losing his mother two decades ago, Robert Kabacy, an estate attorney practicing in Portland, Oregon, created a resource entitled “About Me” to accompany a traditional estate plan. This easy, straightforward guide and workbook is intended for the reader to capture the practical details of a life (e.g., passwords, bank accounts, etc.) so that all […]
Read MoreNursing is a Recession-Proof Job, Here’s Why
Have you ever wondered if being a nurse is advantageous if our economy is in a recession? With all the talks about recession lately, you must be at least a little curious about how it might affect you if you are a nurse or even thinking of becoming a nurse. Surprisingly, nursing does appear to […]
Read MoreHospices Develop Nurse Residencies to Stem Labor Pressures
As hospice providers contend with industry-wide nursing shortages, some are taking matters into their own hands with in-house residency programs. A lack of hospice-specific clinical training is a significant recruitment barrier. Few nursing students receive exposure to hospice or palliative care during their education, and most do not feel prepared to provide end-of-life care to […]
Read MoreThe Rise of Tech-Enabled Grief Care
A proliferating number of startups are developing tech solutions and services to support bereaved families, employing a range of business models — including partnerships with hospices. This budding industry includes a number of rapidly expanding companies of varying size and scale. Some, such as the tech firms Empathy and Betterleave, have secured millions in investor backing. Others […]
Read MoreNew Oncology, Primary Care Models Could Offer Risk-Based Avenues for Home-Based Care Providers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are taking steps to improve oncology care and primary care this week. While both are not directly related to home-based care, the federal government pushing this should pique providers’ interest. After all, both primary and oncology care […]
Read MoreCollaborative Palliative Care Intervention vs Usual Care
A study in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management compared standard treatment with a collaborative palliative care intervention in outpatient care for those with symptomatic heart and lung diseases. The palliative care approach was linked to early, consistent, clinically meaningful improvements in the quality of life. For a study, researchers sought to determine if […]
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