NHPCO’S “FACTS AND FIGURES” ANNUAL REPORT PROVIDES INFORMATION ON HOSPICE DATA NHPCO’s annual report on “Facts and Figures” examines numerous areas of concern and importance to hospices. The press release on the publication quotes NHPCO’s President and CEO Edo Banach saying, “A significant concern for us at NHPCO continues to be the number of […]
Federal Register DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 42 CFR Parts 410, 414, 415, 423, 424, and 425 Medicare Program; CY 2021 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program Requirements for […]
HHS OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL ISSUES TOP UNIMPLEMENTED RECOMMENDATIONS; THREE WITHIN THE TOP 10 PERTAIN TO HOSPICE The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted its 2020 report on the top 25 unimplemented recommendations for reducing fraud, waste, and abuse in HHS programs. These come as the result of OIG audits and evaluations. They […]
HOSPICE RESPITE CARE RELIEF ACT WOULD PROVIDE “A NECESSARY BREAK” FOR CAREGIVERS Introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the COVID-19 Hospice Respite Care Relief Act of 2020 would provide further flexibilities to respite care outside of inpatient settings. “The existing limitations on Medicare’s hospice respite benefit have made […]
HOSPICE RESPITE CARE RELIEF ACT WOULD PROVIDE “A NECESSARY BREAK” FOR CAREGIVERS Introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the COVID-19 Hospice Respite Care Relief Act of 2020 would provide further flexibilities to respite care outside of inpatient settings. “The existing limitations on Medicare’s hospice respite benefit have made […]
Federal Register Alert Hospice Election and Addendum: Changes effective October 1, 2020. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 42 CFR Part 418 Medicare Program; FY 2021 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update—This final rule updates the hospice wage index, payment rates, and cap amount for fiscal year (FY) […]
NAHC CALLS ON NATIONAL NURSING HOME COMMISSION TO ADDRESS CONCERNS ABOUT PROVISION OF HOSPICE As the COVID-19 public health emergency continues, The National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) is calling on leaders to assure that residents of nursing homes maintain access to hospice care. CMS, NAHC says, named in June an independent […]
Federal News and Information Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) HART (Hospice Abstraction Reporting Tool) v1.6.0 is now available HART (Hospice Abstraction Reporting Tool) v1.6.0 is now available in the Related Links section at the bottom of the HIS Technical web page. HART is a Java based software application that provides an option for Hospice […]
Texas Register Important information for your social workers; please share with them! PART 34. TEXAS STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WORKER EXAMINERS CHAPTER 781. SOCIAL WORKER LICENSURE—The Texas Register has published repealed social work licensure rules and prosed new rules as the result of House Bill 1501 (86th Legislative Session). The Texas Board of Social Work Examiners was […]
QUESTIONING THE VALUE OF ADVANCE CARE PLANNING In a note from the editor of the Journal of Palliative Medicine (JPM), R. Sean Morrison, MD, shares his questions about the value of advance care planning. His writing stems from his reaction to the article “Impact of Advance Directives on Outcomes and Charges in Elderly Trauma […]