Hospice business is shifting in Arizona as Banner Health (Banner) has closed hospice services in Arizona and will now refer to nonprofit Hospice of the Valley. Also, Pennant will take over hospice services for Southwestern Palliative Care and Hospice (Southwestern).
Banner, Arizona's largest health system, will shift its 100 hospice...
This week, the Center for Medicare hinted at new value-based approaches to palliative care; health equity takes precedence in the national conversation on rural payment models; and value-based contracts are analyzed for their ability to mitigate drug costs.
The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) is now ten years old, and with it...
The Medicare enrollment period has surpassed the halfway point for the 2022 calendar year (CY) and trends are already apparent. Supplemental benefits and in-home services are demonstrating huge gains for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that offer them, although the $0 premium remains the most consistent choice for enrollees.
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This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is learning from prior models and plans to make adjustments within Medicare Advantage for dual eligibles and hospice care. In other MA news, Anthem and UnitedHealthcare were penalized for failing to meet the medical loss ratio (MLR) threshold of 85%.
CMS is moving forward...National News
The Biden administration has spent the first five months in office reviewing value-based care reimbursement programs authorized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and hospice providers, both integral parts of the Medicare program, still await instruction or expansion of...Arizona News
On Monday, Aug. 13 H.I.G. Growth Partners (H.I.G.) announced the completion of its investment in Sage Hospice. Headquartered in Phoenix, Sage is a leading provider of hospice and palliative care services to patients in the Phoenix market. H.I.G. is a growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital.
Sage is the third largest...National News
Medicare Advantage plans have faced obstacles providing customized care for complex and seriously ill patients, but a recent report found it was primed to provide innovative ways to improve care for the seriously ill.
A report published by the Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University found "Medicare Advantage’s...National News
Sweeping changes were called for, barriers to implementation exist.
Obstacles identified in the study include disparities between the services needed by patients and families and the services they can obtain, barriers in access to care, and "inadequate numbers of palliative care specialists and too little palliative care knowledge...