The Hospice Law Blog, published by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, focuses on legal and regulatory issues affecting hospice care providers. It covers topics such as hospice licensure and moratoriums, Medicare payment policies including hospice cap regulations and repayment demands, telehealth adaptations for hospice recertification, and the impact of federal legislation like the CARES Act on hospice operations. The blog also addresses challenges faced by hospices during public health emergencies, including COVID-19, discussing regulatory waivers, telehealth implementation, and patient care considerations. It provides updates on government oversight, compliance requirements, and policy changes relevant to hospice providers and stakeholders.
On Thursday, February 28, 2019, two years after hearing arguments in lead group cases, the Provider Reimbursement Review Board affirmed CMS’ approach to counting sequestered funds as part of provider revenue for hospice cap calculations.
In 2012, to address budget…
Though beloved as a service, hospice can be a difficult subject for patients, families, and even caregivers. The recent short film, End Game (2018 NetFlix), follows a set of patients, families, and their caregivers through the difficult discussions and choices…
This article was originally posted on the Healthcare Law Blog on July 12, 2018.
Kindred Healthcare. On July 2, 2018, Humana Inc. and private equity firms TPG Capital (TPG), and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (Welsh) (collectively referred to as…
Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for hospices if they have a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course. And, while providers can take an objective set of characteristics (FAST score, PPS, hospitalizations, MAC, etc.)…
This year CMS is rolling out two new programs aimed, finally, at helping to settle certain types of pending provider reimbursement appeals. The programs are the Low Volume Appeals Initiative and Settlement Conference Facilitation.
As pointed out in this…
Update. We described in a previous blog post major changes that tax-exempt hospitals and other tax-exempt organizations in the healthcare industry face in the tax reform proposals working their way through Congress. In the early hours of Saturday, December 2, 2017,…
As federal tax reform efforts proceed rapidly in both chambers of Congress, tax-exempt hospitals and other tax-exempt healthcare organizations are facing major potential changes. New tax burdens on tax-exempt organizations are among the ways in which the bills would raise…
News outlets have noted that hospices discharge, on average, 1 in 5 patients alive.
The presumptive and easy explanation, one that fits political assumptions, is profit motive: for profit hospices admit unwitting patients, earn fees, then discharge them alive.
The…
With the publication of the proposed FY 2018 hospice wage index and payment update, CMS indicates further scrutiny and less compensation for hospices. Here are some key points:…
In recent weeks, hospice providers have been receiving revised cap demands for fiscal years 2012 and earlier. Although the initial demands in these cases were issued more than three years earlier, CMS now claims that it can reopen and revise…
