CMS to Increase Hospice Payments by 2% in 2017

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed increasing Medicare payments for hospices by $330 million for the fiscal year 2017. The total increase is 2%, but also comes with additional quality measures and reporting requirements for hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries. CMS also proposed increasing payments for skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation […]

LHC Group Enters Home Health Venture in Arizona

LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG), a national non-acute health care services provider based in Lafayette, Louisiana, has partnered with Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) in a new joint venture to expand home health and hospice care services in Northern Arizona. The deal comes after LHC Group announced it had an “unprecedented pipeline” for the year ahead that could produce […]

Judge Throws Out Biggest-Ever Hospice False Claims Case

A lawsuit that could have resulted in a $200 million False Claims Act (FCA) penalty against a Texas-based hospice provider has been thrown out. Disagreements among doctors over whether patients should be eligible for hospice care do not alone prove fraud, according to the Alabama judge who dismissed the FCA lawsuit against AseraCare Inc. on Thursday. The penalty would have […]

Hospices Overbilled Medicare by $268 Million, Compromising Home Care

Hospices inappropriately billed for general inpatient care (GIP), and most of those services could have been provided in the home care setting instead, according to a recent report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG). About one-third of all billing in 2012 was found to be inappropriate, costing Medicare $268 million for the year, according […]

Hospice Utilization Declines for First Time in 10 Years

One might expect that hospice utilization would be unwavering or growing, given the country’s aging baby boomer population, as well as the growing awareness and universal availability of hospice services. In reality, hospice utilization across the country has fallen for the first time in 10 years, according to Healthcare Market Resources. The decline is only […]

Cancer Patients Tend to Live Longer at Home than in Hospital

It’s not unusual for people to express a desire to age, and to die, in the comfort of their homes rather than in a hospital setting. The benefits of receiving hospice care at home extend beyond simply one’s personal preference, according to a new study published in the American Cancer Society’s journal Cancer. Terminally ill cancer patients […]

American Hospice Management Goes Bankrupt

American Hospice Management Holdings has filed for bankruptcy protection amid “severe financial stress,” leaving the hospice care provider six weeks to sell its business. Already, Hospice Partners of America made a “stalking horse” bid to acquire American Hospice’s operations in Virginia and Texas, leaving operations in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Oklahoma up for […]

How ‘Before I Die’ Walls Boost Palliative Care

Palliative care appears to be near a tipping point, both due to increasing demand and the ways in which home health agencies and other health care providers are figuring out how to offer and pay for it. While access to palliative care has spread in recent years, awareness and availability of these services is still considered […]