CMS hospice payment suspensions slamming vendors 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/21/26 
... CMS earlier this year began suspending Medicare payments to hundreds of hospices allegedly due to suspected fraud. ... Evidence indicates that some legitimate hospices were caught up in the dragnet due to patients being discharged for valid reasons, such as a revocation of the benefit, moving out of a provider’s service area or transfer to another hospice. ... These regulatory actions have had a ripple effect on vendors, according to a DME company CEO that spoke to Hospice News on background. “These hospice agencies are being suspended. They’re not getting paid,” the DME CEO told Hospice News. “If they’re not getting paid, their employees are not getting paid. DME providers like us are not getting paid. Pharmacies are not getting paid. Any other contractor they have is not getting paid.” This has placed some vendor businesses in peril, and some of them have been considering layoffs of their own, another DME provider ... told Hospice News, “We’ve been trying to keep everybody on board, keep them employed, keep them paid for as long as we possibly can.”

Social hospice model boosts access reduces costs 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 8/21/26
A community-based social model of care has helped to improve hospice access and alleviate family caregiver burden. The collaborative model has also reduced end-of-life care costs among some patient populations. Oklahoma-headquartered Omega Home Network is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the development and expansion of community homes for dying individuals. The community-based model centers around providing nonmedical hospice support in a home setting. Social determinants of health have increasingly determined where patients spend their last days of life, with some individuals facing more complex endings than others, said Kelley Scott, founder and executive director of Omega Home Network. 

Teleios announces Fifth Annual Care As It Should Be award winners 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN), Hendersonville, NC; by Tina Gentry; 8/19/26 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN) announced the fifth annual recipients of the Care As It Should Be Awards during the August Board of Directors Meeting. The purpose of the Care As It Should Be Awards is to recognize those individuals who make an extraordinary impact on the patients and families they serve daily. “We recognize that frontline staff consistently provide exceptional care to patients; these awards honor those who elevate that care even further—individuals who go above and beyond to ensure each patient’s experience is as compassionate, meaningful, and supportive as possible during vulnerable and challenging times,” said Chris Comeaux, President and CEO of TCN. The 2026 award recipients are:

• Meredith Hammond, LCSW, Compassionate Care Western North Carolina;
• Deneen Moore, CNA II, AMOREM;
• Chuck Crisp, Nurse Practitioner, AMOREM;
• Stephanie Lowe, Serious Illness Care Nurse Liaison, ANCORA Compassionate Care.

BJC HealthCare announces new name for Palliative and Supportive Care Institute to expand impact 
BJC HealthCare; Press Release; 8/18/26 
The demand for specialized serious illness and end-of-life care continues to grow as our population ages and more people live longer with complex chronic conditions. To meet this growing need, BJC HealthCare recently made a significant investment through The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital to broaden its impact in palliative and hospice care by naming the Liekweg Family Palliative and Supportive Care Institute at BJC HealthCare in honor of Richard J. Liekweg, who retired as BJC’s CEO in 2025. “We are pleased to honor Rich Liekweg’s leadership by investing to accelerate the Institute's growth, research, and clinical impact for patients and families facing serious illness,” says Nick Barto, BJC Health president and CEO.

Doctors say they feel pressured to prioritize corporate interests over patients: report 
HealthcareDive; by Jill Hughes; 8/21/26 
Corporate entities, including hospitals and health plans, now employ more than 80% of physicians nationwide, according to the Physicians Advocacy Institute.

• Nearly half of physicians employed by corporations feel pressured to prioritize patient volume over care quality, according to a new survey of 1,000 doctors from a physician advocacy group.
• Additionally, 63% of physicians say their employers have policies that make it difficult to refer patients outside their network, and 59% say they face pressure to keep patients within their health system, according to the survey published by healthcare policy consulting firm Healthsperien, commissioned by the Physicians Advocacy Institute.
• The survey comes as more physicians are employed by corporations: ...

Pittsburgh Caregivers get federal lifeline as dementia cases swell across Allegheny County 
hoodline; by Ryan Miller; 8/21/26 
Caregivers looking after loved ones with dementia in Pittsburgh now have a new federal tool to lean on, and it is already showing up at a day center in Squirrel Hill. The Anathan Club, run by the Jewish Association on Aging, has begun connecting families to the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, a Medicare program that can cover up to $2,500 a year in respite care for qualifying beneficiaries. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, known as GUIDE, was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and launched nationwide on July 1, 2024, as an eight-year voluntary pilot running through June 30, 2032, according to CMS. Nearly 390 provider organizations across the country are participating. 

The phone call that taught me how to grieve
Medscape; by Bishal Gyawali, MD, PhD; 8/3/26 
Mike (name changed) was one of my favorite patients. We aren’t supposed to have favorites, but we are human. And sometimes you just have that unexplainable bond with someone. ... When I returned from my travels, I learned that Mike had passed away. It was heartbreaking for me. ... When I picked up the phone to call his wife, I had butterflies in my stomach. These calls never get easier. I asked: “Hello, is this Jess? I am Dr. Gyawali from the cancer center.” “Thank you for calling,” she responded, her voice cracking a little. I told her that I knew Mike had passed away. She recounted that day with me. ... She said, “You know, Mike could easily pay to get treated at one of the top cancer centers in the world. But he chose to get treated in Kingston because he liked you and your team here.” As I was getting ready to put the phone down, Jess said, “I’m sorry for your loss, too, Doctor. I know how much he meant to you. I’m happy you were his oncologist. Please take care of yourself, too.” I hung up the phone and cried. ... “I am sorry for your loss.” It was the first time a patient’s family told this phrase to me. Of course, it is my loss too. I had never thought of it this way, perhaps I thought I was not allowed to think of it this way. But it is. ...

Hospice Wage Index, the Final Rule, and the signals CMS is sending | part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); pocast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Annette Kiser and Judi Lund Person 
The 2027 Hospice Final Rule is more than a reimbursement update—it’s a window into where Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) believes hospice care needs to go next. In Part One, host Chris Comeaux sits down with hospice regulatory experts Annette Kiser and Judi Lund Person to look beyond the numbers and “read the tea leaves” in CMS’s latest rule.  They unpack what hospice leaders need to understand about the Hospice Election Statement Addendum, the growing scrutiny of unrelated services and non-hospice Medicare spending, telehealth reporting, and the Service and Spending Variation Index (SSVI).  As Judi explains, CMS’s commentary and responses to industry feedback can reveal as much about the agency’s direction as the regulations themselves.

Modernizing payment integrity in an era of systemic fraud 
MedCityNews; by Christian Bass; 8/21/26 
Across the United States, Medicaid and Medicare fraud cases are surfacing with increasing frequency — and scale. From improper billing and undocumented services to upcoding and duplicate claims, these cases span federal programs and state-administered Medicaid plans. Once perceived as isolated misconduct, these cases are now being exposed as a systemic challenge, revealing vulnerabilities in reimbursement oversight that affect payers, regulators, and ultimately taxpayers. ... Gaps in reimbursement oversight and recovery will only widen, unless plans modernize how they detect, investigate, and recoup improper payments. Organizations that respond quickly will be positioned to manage the financial and regulatory headwinds.

Hospice of Wichita Falls hosts first Growing Through Grief Symposium 
KFDX Wichita Falls, TX; by Ashley Waters; 8/22/26 
Hospice of Wichita Falls brought licensed professional counselors together for its first Growing Through Grief Symposium. ... "Grief as a child can really significantly impact their development growing up. So we want to try and mitigate that as much as possible and start working with them now," said Hospice of Wichita Falls Children's Program Specialist Sydney Reese. According to the National Alliance for Children's Grief, about 6 million children across the nation experience the death of a parent or sibling by the age of 18. Hospice of Wichita Falls was awarded the 2026 Grief Reach Grant to support childhood grief awareness efforts throughout Texoma [for helping professionals]. 

NY Medicaid Revalidation and Enrollment Moratorium: immediate planning considerations for providers 
JDSupra; by Marc A. Antonucci; 8/20/26 
New York Medicaid providers should prepare now for significant changes in provider enrollment oversight. The New York State Department of Health (DOH), following direction from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will require every Medicaid-enrolled provider in New York to complete revalidation over the next 24 months. The process will require coordination among compliance, operations, billing, finance, governance, and transaction teams. DOH will implement the State’s CMS-approved revalidation strategy through a phased schedule and the Provider Services Portal (PSP). Providers should expect electronic submission requirements, phased notices, detailed ownership and affiliation disclosures, and screening requirements. 

Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. ~ Francis of Assisi