Geographic disparities in hospice quality and family caregiver experience: the roles of ownership, social vulnerability, and workforce capacity 
arXiv; by Jinho Cha and Misun Roh; 9/29/26  
Hospice quality should be interpreted in relation to both provider organization and the local conditions under which care is delivered. This study develops a provider-county performance assessment framework by linking national Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hospice data and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey outcomes with county measures of rurality, social vulnerability, health burden, and workforce and health-resource context. The adjusted analysis includes 2,928 providers in 1,078 counties and combines geographic mapping, blockwise regression, six secondary CAHPS outcomes, and eight sensitivity analyses.

HMN 2026: How palliative care understanding shapes preferences for end-of-life care 
Health Medicine Network; 99/28/26 
A Swedish population-level study has found that people with a comprehensive understanding of palliative care are more likely to prefer end-of-life care at home or in a hospice. Among individuals with less understanding about palliative care, hospital care is preferred. ... The data were based on a random sample of 3,750 people ages 16–90 from the Swedish population register. 

Center for Hospice Care spotlights doula volunteer program 
GreatNews.Life, Valparaiso, IN; by Bennett Silveus; 9/25/26 
Over the years, Center for Hospice Care (CHC) has worked to provide a wide range of specialized hospice and palliative care options to members of the Northern Indiana community.  ... End-of-life doulas are trained, non-medical professionals who provide emotional, spiritual, and personal support and guidance to patients and families navigating the transitional period between life and death. ... Each CHC end-of-life doula works as a general volunteer for the non-profit, often starting off as a home visit or patient volunteer before moving to work as a doula. From there, the volunteer must take a 16-hour course and shadow a current doula to become fully trained in the practice.

Technical correction for FY 2027 Hospice Rates published 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 42 CFR Part 418; notes below by Judi Lund Person; 9/29/26
On September 29, 2026, the Federal Register published the long-awaited technical correction to the hospice rates, due to an error in calculating the wage index standardization factor. The national rates have dropped by a few pennies and the revised FY 2027 rates are now final. The Federal Register notice can be found here, which includes national rates for all levels of care. The new rates will take effect on October 1, 2026.

Interactive maps of aging: Judy Salerno and Lindsay Goldman 
GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Care Podcast for Every Healthcare Professional; pocast by Judy Salerno and Lindsay Goldman; 9/24/26 
Love the story Judy Solerno tells at the start of this podcast. The story is about how John Snow, the father of modern epidemiology, mapped out cases of Cholera in London in the year 1854.  He was able to identify a concentration of cases near a neighborhood water pump.  Simply removing the handle from the pump halted the outbreak.  This is one of the earliest recorded uses of maps for public health purposes. Our guests today, Judy Salerno (President Emeritus of the New York Academy of Medicine) and Lindsay Goldman (CEO of Grantmakers in Aging) have done some wonderful work creating detailed, in-depth, interactive maps of aging in New York City. Go to IMAGENNYC and try it yourself.

Dr. Martin McCormack: The healthcare leader connecting education, governance and a safer world
Global Healthcare Magazine; September 2026 issue 
Long before he held the title [Chief Executive Officer of the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland], ... Dr. Martin McCormack sat with families in the hardest hours of their lives, [as a palliative care physician, trauma counselor with patients and families in intensive care, supervising a team of 36 medical social workers, developing bereavement services]. ... He measures his own leadership less by what has been delivered in any one period than by the capability it leaves behind. Strong people, inclusive institutions, trusted partnerships and systems that learn are, to him, the more meaningful measures of leadership. ... Dr. McCormack has been asking some version of the same question that has remained consistent throughout his career: What does this person need from the system around them, and how do we build it so it holds? 

What is end-of-life care at home? A complete guide for families 
exeleon | Healthcare; 9/28/26 
A study published in Federal Practitioner in September 2025, using data from the CDC WONDER database, found that home was the most common place of death among cancer patients between 2003 and 2023, accounting for 40.3% of all recorded deaths. ... This guide walks through what services are typically included, how eligibility works, and what separates in-home support from care delivered in a facility. Along the way, it covers home care for end of life planning, the difference between hospice and general end-of-life support, and practical steps for arranging services quickly.

CMS to update Hospice CoPs 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/25/26 
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun the process of revising the hospice Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for the first time in 20 years. ... CMS will hold three listening sessions with stakeholders to discuss and gather feedback on the CoPs and what they may change. The first is scheduled for Oct. 6 for hospice administrators and management, and the second will take place on Oct. 7 for direct care workers. The third happens on Oct. 14 for patient caregivers and families.

Warning: If you get a ‘new’ plastic Medicare card in the mail, do not give your Social Security number 
SavingAdvice.com; by James Hendrickson; 9/28/26 
An official-looking Medicare card unexpectedly arrives in your mailbox, but there’s something different about it: it’s plastic, perhaps has a chip, and comes with instructions telling you to call a number to “activate” your new benefits. Don’t make that call. 
The Senior Medicare Patrol specifically warns beneficiaries about scams involving supposed new plastic Medicare cards, chip cards, and annual replacement cards. Scammers may use the story as an excuse to obtain your Medicare number, Social Security number, banking information, or other personal data. There’s an important 2026 wrinkle, however: receiving a new Medicare card isn’t automatically evidence of fraud. ... Here’s what to check before giving anyone information. ...
Editor's Note: Beware this additional level of fraud. Educate your employees, volunteers, and community. Read and distribute this timely information with specific, practical advice. 

Anderson Family Care launches, addresses systemic gaps in end-of-life care 
businesswire, Nashville, TN; Press Release; 9/24/26 
Anderson Family Care, a mission-driven end-of-life care organization founded by healthcare industry veterans, today announced its official launch to bridge the gap in how patients, caregivers and healthcare providers experience the final chapter. Founded to address the persistent industry challenge of late hospice referrals and fragmented provider communication, Anderson Family Care serves as the parent company of an integrated, dual-brand model offering advanced technology navigation, earlier goals-of-care conversations as well as high-touch, bedside care delivery. 

Industry veteran launches ServingOverSelling movement to encourage health systems to curb promotional marketing 
News Chief, Minneapolis, MN; Press Release; 9/27/26 
Chris Bevolo, former healthcare marketing agency owner, CEO and author of seven books calls on health systems to redirect money from self-promotion. One year after retiring from a 25-year health system marketing career, industry veteran Chris Bevolo has launched ServingOverSelling, a movement that encourages health systems to reallocate their promotional marketing spend and instead put those resources, energy and focus of those institutions back where they belong: on helping the people they exist to serve. The initiative, launched during the 2026 Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development 2026 Connections Annual Conference, already has a number of signatories to the movement’s pledge for health system marketing leaders to reallocate their promotional marketing spend in whatever way possible.

Hospice industry generates $142 million in economic activity [in Puerto Rico] 
W Journal; by Newsroom; 9/24/26 
Puerto Rico’s hospice industry generates an estimated $142 million in economic activity, supports approximately 1,417 jobs and produces nearly $48 million in annual payroll, according to a new study by Estudios Técnicos Inc. (ETI). Commissioned by Grace Health Puerto Rico, the study examines the industry’s economic impact and the potential cost benefits of hospice care compared with more intensive forms of end-of-life treatment. ... “The findings demonstrate that hospice services generate not only economic benefits, but also important social benefits for patients and their families,” said Anitza Cox Marrero, director of ETI’s Social Analysis Division.

The Road Not Taken; Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth...