Maine Hospice Council - Closure announcement
Personal communication; 10/20/26
Maine Hospice Council to cease operations. For more information contact: Executive Director Kandyce Powell, (207) 882-4032, kandycepowell65@gmail.com or Board President Alicia Murray, DNP, MSN, RN, CHPN, (207) 941-7046, murrayal@husson.edu. After careful consideration and extensive evaluation of available resources, the Maine Hospice Council Board members have made the difficult decision to cease operations and close the organization effective October 17, 2026. Referring to her one-on-one work with people, public speaking, and consulting, MHC Executive Director Kandyce Powell, RN, MSN said, “I will continue to be available to anyone searching for hospice and end-of-life care resources at either (207) 882-4032 or KandycePowell65@gmail.com.”

SOS Y 1A34- How do utilization and process measures vary by hospice star rating, and do they differ by profit status?
Substack; by Joan Teno; 10/19/26
Hospice star ratings come from surveys of hospice primary caregiver after a loved one dies. In our analysis, hospices with more stars were more likely to have a nurse or social worker visit in the last days of life, and that pattern held for both for-profit and nonprofit hospices. But star ratings told us little about how often a hospice discharges patients before death or how much Medicare spends on each patient; on those measures, whether a hospice is for-profit or nonprofit mattered more. When choosing a hospice, look at the star rating, but also ask how often staff visit in the final days and whether the hospice is for-profit or nonprofit.

Homestead Hospice settles $1.9M qui tam lawsuit 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/19/26 
Homestead Hospice has reached a $1.93 million settlement agreement for the company’s alleged involvement in False Claims Act violations. U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. recently released the settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought under qui tam provisions more than a decade ago. These “whistleblower” cases involve alleged violations of the anti-kickback statute and the False Claims Act. The qui tam lawsuit was filed in 2015 and was extended for nearly a decade before moving forward in a Georgia federal court in 2025. Plaintiffs in the case initially requested a settlement of $1.82 million fees and $13,000 in expenses.

Center for Hospice Care honors veterans with 11th annual Veterans Tribute Ceremony 
GreatNews.Life; by Bennett Silveus; 10/19/26 
On Tuesday, October 13, Center for Hospice Care’s Mishawaka Campus hosted its annual Veterans Tribute Ceremony, honoring the legacies of veterans among a mix of both civilians and service members. The ceremony saw the commemoration of various veteran tribute gifts, including plaques, bricks and a tree donated by multiple families to the Captain Robert J. Hiler Jr. Veterans Memorial.

Husband donates seven figures to build Newport News hospice home in honor of late wife 
13 News - ABC, Newport News, VA; by Germyah Batey; 10/20/26 
A seven-figure donation to the Riverside Foundation will help bring a new hospice home to Newport News, inspired by one husband’s experience caring for his wife, who died from Alzheimer’s disease earlier this year. James Thorton is making the gift in honor of his wife, Donna, his high school sweetheart and wife of 56 years. ... Thorton became Donna’s full-time caregiver, helping manage her daily needs, medications, and comfort. “There are parts of dementia which I could manage and control,” he said. “I could make sure she’s fed, make sure that she got her meds on time, make sure she was comfortable.” Riverside’s palliative care team eventually stepped in to help care for Donna at home. Thorton said the team was pleasant and understanding, an experience that inspired him to help other families facing similar challenges.

Palliative Care: It’s Time for a Robust Federal Benefit
NPHI podcast; by Cameron Muir, Kris Smith; 10/15/26
The need for community-based palliative care has never been clearer. So why isn’t there a sustainable federal benefit to support it? Millions of Americans living with serious illness need coordinated, compassionate care long before they qualify for hospice. Yet gaps in our healthcare system too often leave patients and families facing unnecessary hospitalizations, fragmented services, and avoidable suffering. In this episode of Inside View by NPHI, hosts Tom and Carole welcome Dr. Cameron Muir and Dr. Kris Smith to discuss why it’s time for a robust federal community-based palliative care benefit.

Home health and hospice personnel file audit checklist for ACHC, CHAP and Joint Commission Surveys (2026) 
Corvara HR; 10/15/26 
When ACHC, CHAP or The Joint Commission surveys a Medicare-certified home health agency or hospice for deemed status, the federal Conditions of Participation are the floor. This checklist turns the personnel parts of those rules into a file-by-file audit, adds the OSHA and Form I-9 records every file needs, marks what each accreditor publishes on top, and shows how to run the audit before a surveyor does.

Medicaid plans failing to reimburse hospices for nursing home room-and-board 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/20/26
Some Medicaid managed care plans are continuing to fail to make pass-through room-and-board payments to hospices for patients in California nursing homes. The issue pertains to nursing home residents who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Hospices typically cover these patients’ room-and-board costs with the expectation that Medicaid will reimburse them for the expenses. 

Lobbying update: $1,520,000 of Humana Inc lobbying was just disclosed 
Quiver Quantitative; by Quiver Lobbying Radar; 10/20/26 
$1,520,000 of HUMANA INC lobbying was just disclosed, from Q3 of 2026, in a new Lobbying Disclosure Act filing. This included lobbying on issues like: "Medicare Advantage (MA) Policy and Reimbursement Medicare Part D Issues Medicaid Policy Issues Including Dual Eligibles Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) and Pharmacy Policy and Reimbursement Issues Home Health Policy and Reimbursement Issues Implementation of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Public Law No. 117-169 H.R. 3514/S.1816, Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 (119th Congress) Prior Authorization Policy and Regulatory Issues CMS-4185-F2 Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment Data Validation Final Rule Primary Care and Value-Based Care Policy and Reimbursement Clinical Policy Issues Including Workforce and Mental Health Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS): ... [the list continues]

Post-acute with a focus on labor part 1 | accelerated deal flow in post-acute care 
JDSupra; by John Frehse and Christine Ishak; 10/20/26 
Record Year, and a Bill Nobody Underwrote: Senior housing and care changed hands in 2025 at a pace the sector has not seen in more than a decade: 871 transactions worth $30.5 billion, with senior housing accounting for 59% of deals and skilled nursing accounting for 41% of deals (LevinPro LTC, January 2026). That followed a 2024 that had itself set a record, and the pace has not broken. Skilled nursing volume in the first quarter of 2026 ran 36% above the 2025 quarterly average, hospice posted its busiest quarter since 2021, and Medicaid home health set a record at 28 deals. 

Valley Hospice continues end-of-life care conversation with second theatrical performance 
TAPinto.net, Paramus, NJ; by Valley Health System; 10/19/26 
Following the thoughtful discussions generated by The Final Act Part I: A Conversation on End-Of-Life Choices, a theatrical performance hosted by Valley Hospice last November, community members are invited to continue the conversation at The Final Act Part II: Setting the Stage for Hospice Care. ... Through storytelling, drama, humor, and education, the program explores what hospice care truly provides beyond the final days of life, including expert symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, caregiver education, crisis prevention, and guidance through difficult transitions.

Even if you have a lot of work to do, if you think of it as wonderful, and if you feel it is wonderful, it will transform into the energy of joy and fire, instead of becoming a burden. ~ Tulku Thondup Rinpoche