WiHPCA is happy to remind members about and provide links to the latest articles and information from Hospice News and other publications:

·       Hospices Could Face Legal Risks When COVID PHE Ends

By Holly Vossel | July 21, 2022

The recently extended COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will not last forever. When it does expire, hospices need to be aware of potential legal risks. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) once again extended the COVID-19 PHE until Oct. 6. While the agency has the option to keep extending the emergency, hospices may start seeing additional scrutiny, particularly in regards to telehealth utilization and the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). Read more…

·       NAHC’s Dombi: ‘Workforce Shortage Affects All of Society’

By Holly Vossel | July 25, 2022

The home-based care workforce shortage has social and economic ripple effects, according to Bill Dombi, president of the National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). Demand is outstripping supply for home-based care, said Dombi at the NAHC Financial Management Conference in Las Vegas. Home-based care providers are rejecting upwards of roughly 30% of referrals because providers lack the clinicians to sustain the volume, he said. Read more…

·       Sequestration’s Return Creating a ‘Tsunami of Pain Points’ for Hospices

By Holly Vossel | July 15, 2022

The return of sequestration is adding to the financial storms brewing in hospice, as providers contend with rising costs of delivering patient care, inflation and lackluster reimbursement. Providers are increasingly concerned about their ability to sustain their businesses through choppy waters, calling on regulators to step up support. Read more…

·       Why Some Referred Patients Never Make It to Hospice

By Jim Parker | July 8, 2022

Hospice referrals appear to be going up. But many patients who get the referral never receive the care due to low health literacy and social determinant of health factors. Among patients who received inpatient discharge instructions indicating hospice, nearly 1 in 10 did not enroll within 30 days of leaving the hospital, according to recent research from Trella Health. The company used data from the last quarter of 2020 and the third of 2021. Read more…

Hospice News, which is part of the Aging Media Network, is a leading source for news and information covering the hospice industry.