Opioids, Star Ratings Among Top Regulatory Issues in Hospice

The hospice care space has become the hot acquisition target of the moment, in part because buyers see high margins and fewer regulatory hurdles when compared against home health care. However, that does not mean hospice is entirely spared from new and evolving hurdles and regulatory obligations. From opioid-related legislation to forthcoming Hospice Compare changes and […]

Bill Calls for Hospices to Destroy Opioids After Patients Die

As the country is gripped by an opioid addiction crisis, the role of hospices in the epidemic has come under a spotlight. A new bill in Kentucky would aim to address some of those issues by improving the disposal of medications in the hospice setting after a patient’s death. A rising problem surrounding hospices has […]

State Officials Request More Power to Crack Down on Home Care

More than two-dozen state attorneys general are pushing for more power and funds to monitor home care quality. They penned a letter to Health and Human Services Sec. Tom Price urging changes to policies around using Medicaid funds to investigate alleged abuse or neglect in the home environment. In all, 37 states’ attorneys general signed the letter to Sec. Price. Currently […]

States Where Seniors Use Home Health the Most

Seniors in New England are using home health care services at a higher rate than seniors in other U.S. states, while seniors in non-continental U.S. states are using home health at the lowest rates, according to data published last Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data was published as a […]

Little Growth in Number of Home Health Agencies

As the population of American seniors continues to grow, so does the need for long-term care services, but the number of home health increased only slightly between 2012 and 2014. About 12,400 agencies were operational as of 2014, up from 12,200 two years prior, according to a newly released report from the Centers for Disease […]

Life Expectancy in U.S. Hits New High

The life expectancy for Americans has hit a record high, according to a new report on mortality in the USA from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. Life expectancy in the United States rose to 78.8 in 2012, which is an increase of 0.1 year from 78.7 years […]

CDC Awards $870K Grant for Virtual Home Health Training

An $870,000 grant awarded by a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be used to develop a virtual simulation program to train home health workers.   The three-year grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a part of the CDC, will help researchers from the University of […]