WiHPCA is happy to remind members about and provide links to the latest articles and information from Hospice News and other publications:
· U.S. Senators Reintroduce Telehealth Bill, Would Make Permanent Hospice Recertification Waiver
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 59 bipartisan co-sponsors have reintroduced legislation that would expand Medicare coverage of telehealth and make permanent flexibilities implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency. If enacted, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act would remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and expand originating sites to include the home, among others. It would also permit health centers, rural health clinics and eligible health care professionals to provide telehealth services. Read more…
· OIG Launches Audit of Inappropriate General Inpatient Hospice Billing
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced plans to launch a new audit that will focus on general inpatient hospice services. Longer general inpatient hospice stays and high-cost issues are reasons for the audit, dubbed the “Audit of Selected, High-Risk Medicare Hospice General Inpatient Services,” according to OIG. The regulatory watchdog’s nationwide audit will concentrate on Medicare claims for hospice enrollees transferred to general inpatient care (GIP) settings following an acute hospitalization. Read more…
· Hospices Seek Congressional Action on Staffing Constraints
Years after it was first introduced, hospice leaders are calling on Congress to move forward legislation that would bolster their dwindling workforce. The most significant bill in recent years is the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA), which has come before Congress time and again but has not yet been passed. The bill’s most recent go around was last May, reintroduced by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Read more…
· Hospices, Lawmakers Target Medication Cost Reductions
Medication costs are among hospice providers’ biggest expenses, and some are asking policymakers to take action on prices. High prices on drugs, as well as shortages, are problems that permeate the entire health care system. While recent industry-wide data are scarce on drug costs for hospice patients, providers often identify these as their second-highest expense, behind wages, salaries and employee benefits. Read more…
· US Justice Department’s Spotlight on Hospice Sends ‘Powerful Message’ to Fraudulent Operators
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is prioritizing hospice as the agency cracks down on health care fraud. Increased reimbursement oversight could be on the horizon, lending to a potential rise in whistleblower cases. DOJ counts hospice claims among the root causes of rising Medicare costs in recent years, according to Lisa Miller, deputy assistant attorney general overseeing the department’s Crime Fraud Section. Read more…
· Solutions That Make Sense: Why Hospice Benefit Reform Needs to Incorporate Concurrent Care
Increasingly, both policymakers and providers are seeing potential opportunities to reform the Medicare Hospice Benefit, including the prospect of concurrent care. Driving these conversations is the need to lighten the nation’s heavy health care spend, which in 2021 reached $4.3 trillion, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Read more…
· New Senate Bill Would Create CMMI Palliative Care Demo
Four U.S. senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would direct the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a palliative care-specific payment model demonstration. The bill’s sponsors include Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). The four legislators in 2019 co-founded the Senate’s bipartisan Comprehensive Care Caucus to focus on legislation and policy to raise awareness of and improve access to palliative care. Read more…
Hospice News, which is part of the Aging Media Network, is a leading source for news and information covering the hospice industry.
