Leonardtown Run For Hospice raises $125k in 29th annual event 
My Town, Leonardtown, MD; by Nicholaus Wiberg; 4/16/26 
Runners, walkers and pets gathered Saturday morning in Leonardtown (4/11) for the 29th annual Run and Fun Walk for Hospice of St. Mary’s, continuing a long-standing community tradition supporting hospice and bereavement services for local families. The event featured a 10K and 5K runs and a fun walk, beginning at the St. Mary’s County Governmental Center and winding through historic Leonardtown and surrounding rural roads. ... More than 1,100 participants from across the region registered for the St. Mary’s County event; ... the main event raised more than $125,000 ...

Petaluma’s Sacks Hospice Thrift Shoppe to close in May 
The Ramsey Show, Petaluma, CA; by Jeff Woodworth; 4/17/26 
The beloved Sacks Hospice Thrift Shoppe in Petaluma will permanently close its doors by May 15 after nearly 40 years of service. The Petaluma Argus-Courier reports store operator Providence Hospice Foundation cited the need for “significant capital improvements” and safety upgrades to the leased Liberty Street building as the reason for the shutdown. While liquidation proceeds will continue to fund local grief support, the news has sparked community heartbreak and an online petition with over 1,300 signatures. Volunteers call the shop a “critical resource” for both hospice families and eco-conscious shoppers. 

Strafford County, Mass General Brigham in talks to reopen Hyder Hospice 
Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, NH; by Karen Dandurant; 5/17/26 
A deal has been reached that would save Hyder Family Hospice House, according to Strafford County Commission Chairman George Maglaras. The county closed the hospice earlier this month, citing financial difficulties. Maglaras said April 17 that a $1-a-year lease agreement has been reached with Wentworth-Douglass Hospital of Dover, which is owned by Mass General Brigham, with only details to be worked out before it becomes official.

Hospices to face increased scrutiny under new scoring system 
Harris Beach Murtha Attorneys at Law; by Glenn M. Jones and Roy W. Breitenbach; 4/15/26 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans a new hospice scoring system in fiscal year 2027 . ... CMS announced the service and spending variation index (SSVI) is part of its ongoing efforts to combat fraud and strengthen program integrity. CMS said the system will increase transparency for families, ensure proper care, protect beneficiaries and support providers delivering quality end-of-life care. Details of the proposed rule can be found on the Federal Register. The agency has also published a fact sheet on the proposed rule. The SSVI score will be based on a variety of metrics CMS gathers from hospice claims, including:

• Non-hospice spending
• Percent of beneficiaries discharged with a length of stay of 180 days or more
• Average minutes per routine home care day
• Percent of live discharges where beneficiaries return to the same hospice in seven days

“This is the beginning”: DOJ signals intensifying health care fraud enforcement in California 
Pillsbury; by Christopher Lee, Dylan M. Aste, Fank Kalinski; 4/16/26 
Recent U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and California Attorney General enforcement activity sends a clear signal that California health care entities that interact with government programs—in particular the hospice and home health industries—are now under intense scrutiny. Companies in these sectors should prepare for subpoenas, Civil Investigative Demands, and searches as a result of federal and state agencies conducting independent and parallel investigations. This uptick in government enforcement is sure to spur qui tam relators and whistleblowers. Unprepared California hospice and home health companies may face significant civil, and even criminal, exposure.

Carve-in or carve-out? The future of hospice under Medicare Advantage | part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Robin Hefferman; 4/17/26
From the lessons learned in the VBID demonstration to the growing momentum behind “carve-in” models, this episode explores the tension between cost, quality, and patient experience—and what it will take to align all three.  At the center of the discussion is a critical question: how do we design a system that truly rewards high-quality care while eliminating inefficiencies and poor outcomes? The conversation dives into emerging models like concurrent care “bridge pathways,” which challenge the traditional binary transition into hospice and offer a more patient-centered approach to serious illness care.

Sessions introduces bill to fight fraud and promote accountability in federally funded programs 
U.S. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC; Press Release; 4/16/26 
Subcommittee on Government Operations Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) introduced the Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act (H.R. 8312) to expand the U.S. Treasury Fiscal Service’s financial and program integrity services and ensure the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) anti-fraud data analysis capabilities and resources are maintained in a permanent Inspectors General office. ... Read the bill text here.

Closing the palliative care workforce gap through state lawmaking: a survey of legislation 2010-2023 
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Eugene Rusyn, JD and Stacie Sinclair, MPP; 4/6/26
Results: From 2010-2023, we identified 723 bills and laws pertaining to palliative care. Of those, fourteen related in whole or in part to workforce (representing 2% of the total) with five becoming law—representing a pass rate of 36%. Fifty-five legislative entries pertained to clinical skill-building (comprising 7.6% of bills or laws from 2010-2023), with seventeen becoming law—representing a pass rate of 31%. Taken together, these efforts represented a minority (9.5%) of state legislative action during the study period.

Hospices’ top questions about AI 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 4/17/26 
... Hospices nationwide are implementing AI solutions to build efficiency and improve workflows, as well as aid in clinical decision making and documentation. ... AI is leading the pack in terms of hospice technology investments in 2026. About 36% of hospice leader respondents to Hospice News’ 2026 Outlook Survey indicated that predictive analytics and AI systems will be their top tech investments this year. This was followed by electronic health records at 30% and patient engagement tools at 11%.

Woman indicted for mother's death turns tragedy into advocacy 
WJBF-6 ABC News, Augusta, GA; by Kim Vickers; 4/16/26 
A woman is speaking out after she was indicted last year for the death of her mother. Rachel Waters gave her mother morphine provided by a hospice company, which authorities believed led to the woman’s death. Six months later, the charges were dropped. Now, Waters is turning her experience into something positive. ... Foster was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and bone cancer and eventually her oncologist recommended home hospice care. The hospice company prescribed an end-of-life care kit for Waters to use when Foster needed it. End-of-life care kits contain several drugs specific to the patient’s needs, including liquid morphine. We spoke to several Hospice nurses who told us they are commonly prescribed to families and caregivers to administer to their loved one.

Local filmmaker releases new movie "Winter Hymns" shot in Menomonie 
WQOQ-18 ABC News, Eau Claire, WI; by Sam Fristed; 4/16/26 
A Chippewa Valley filmmaker is excited about a new movie that is now on the silver screen. Nathan Deming's new film "Winter Hymns" recently premiered at the Wisconsin Film Festival. ... The plot centers around a doctor who visits multiple dying patients in one day. While helping the families, she struggles with balancing the compassion of her profession with the American health care system that prioritizes profits and efficiency. Deming was inspired to write the film because his father was a palliative care physician in Eau Claire for about ten years. 

The future depends on what you do today. ~ Mahatma Gandhi