Medicare freeze on new hospice and home health agencies expires November 13 as CMS stays silent 
Medical Daily; by Joseph James; 10/29/26 
A Deadline Two Weeks Away and No Word From CMS: A nationwide freeze that has blocked new hospices and home health agencies from enrolling in Medicare since May is set to expire on Nov. 13, and the federal government has not said whether it will keep the freeze in place. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told providers it would give at least 60 days' notice before the moratoria expire, according to Home Health Care News. As of Oct. 30, no extension notice had been published, leaving hospitals, discharge planners, and families without a clear picture of what the end-of-life and in-home care market will look like in two weeks.

Hospice doesn’t have to happen at home 
Hometown Stations ABC-FOX-NBC-CBS; by LeAnne Gendreau, Katherine Ambrose, Sondra 'Sam' Cradduck, Amy Cameron O’Rourke and Dr. Rhea Rogers; 10/23/26 
Hospice care is often misunderstood as “giving up,” but it’s really about comfort, dignity and quality of life. For some families, that care doesn’t have to happen inside the family home — and knowing the alternatives can take the pressure off an already difficult decision.

• “There’s no right or wrong” ...
• Hospice can follow you anywhere ...
• Hospice means support, not a location ...
• Plans can change — and that’s OK ...
• Morphine eases breathing ...
• Key takeaways ...

How the government is thinking about hospice payment reform 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/30/26 
Congress and federal agencies have been examining the prospect of adjusting – or overhauling – hospice reimbursement systems. This is based on introduced pieces of legislation and a series of government reports from agencies like the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has also chimed in. This represents a larger trend in the federal government, Katie Wehri, vice president of policy, quality and compliance for the National Alliance for Care at Home said. Wehri made these remarks during a session at the Alliance’s Annual Conference.

The debate: vertical integration, payvider, or world-class care—which path forward? | part four 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 10/30/26 
What happens when three compelling visions for healthcare’s future face off—and one host has to defend them all? In Part Four of The Debate, TCNtalks / Anatomy of Leadership host Chris Comeaux plays three distinct characters: Paul, advocating for vertical integration; Christopher, championing a payvider strategy; and Comeaux, defending world-class hospice and palliative care.  Through their exchange, Chris explores a defining question for healthcare leaders: Which path best serves patients and families while positioning an organization for the future?

Lake County Hospice grant pulled after renamed nonprofit missed promised camps  
hoodline, North SF Bay area; by Emily Johnson; 10/31/26 
The board of Lake County's Redbud Health Care District voted to revoke its annual grant award for Hospice Services of Lake County, now operating under the new name Lake Circle of Care, after the nonprofit failed to carry out programs it promised when it sought the money earlier this year. The decision came at the district's monthly board meeting on Oct. 27, revoking the organization's annual district grant and leaving it facing a demand to return money from a prior grant cycle. 

Why is community-based palliative care so hard to get?
KevinMD.com | Physician Voices; by Jill Schwartz-Chevlin, MD, MBA; 10/30/26 
After my grandmother fell and fractured her cervical spine, she lived another four years thanks to incredible caregivers, family members, and my own home-based primary care practice, which I started because of her. Twelve million patients in the U.S. living with serious illness need, but cannot access, the palliative care that saved, extended, and improved my grandmother’s life. The U.S. health care system is not set up to support patients with serious illnesses and their families and caregivers who are trying to navigate chronic care at home. It is optimized for episodes of care. ...

How Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare influence palliative and hospice care implementation: a conversation with Xin Hu, PhD 
The ASCO Post; by Jo Cavallo; 10/29/26 
In 2024, ASCO updated its guideline for the integration of palliative care in oncology, ... However, despite ASCO’s recommendations, utilization of palliative care in the oncology setting remains low, with about one-third of patients globally receiving this service, with the highest utilization rate of nearly 56% in Africa and the lowest, 30%, in the United States. The results from two studies by Xin Hu, PhD, MSPH, and her colleagues evaluating the use of early palliative care among traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with advanced cancers find that systemic and structural barriers in the health-care system are contributing to the underuse of palliative care among these patients.

ECU Health hospice services transitioning to Liberty Home Care and Hospice 
WITN, Greenville, NC; by WITN Web Team; 10/30/26 
ECU Health say its hospice and home health business units have been sold to a healthcare provider that’s served the Carolinas for more than 150 years. Effective Sunday [11/1], all ECU Health home health and hospice operations will be transferred to Liberty Home Care and Hospice. Those include home health officers in Greenville, Windsor, Washington and Kenansville, hospice offices in Greenville, Ahoskie and Kenansville, and the Service League of Greenville hospice house.

BrightSpring leverages hospice in PACE, home care expansion 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/30/26 
BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG) has focused on expanding its presence in home-based care. The company’s investments in hospice and home health are fueling opportunities on the horizon. Having diversified services has uniquely-positioned the company for sustainable growth, according to Jon Rousseau, chairman, president and CEO of BrightSpring. The company is leveraging its hospice and pharmacy services as the company expands its reach into Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Rousseau indicated in the earnings call.

Montclair's Clairidge to screen three Indie films, one a Philly hospice drama 
hoodline, Montclair, NJ; by Tariq Hassan; 10/29/26 
... A Philadelphia Story About Hospice Care and Addiction: The showcase's centerpiece is End of the Line: Brotherhood, a one-hour drama set inside an underfunded inner-city hospice clinic. TAPinto Montclair reports the film explores end-of-life dignity, caregiver burnout, addiction, and family relationships, while also addressing distrust of the health care system within the Black community. At the center of the story is LeRoy “Roy” Downs, described by TAPinto Montclair as a recovering addict and single father struggling to keep the hospice facility running. 

Employee spotlight: Andy Hart shows how a little time can make a big difference 
City of Toledo, OH; 10/30/26
For Andy Hart, an electrical inspector with the City of Toledo’s Division of Building Inspection, last year’s Customer Service Week inspired him to take his volunteer work a step further. What began as helping with office tasks at a local hospice grew into spending time directly with hospice patients, where he discovered how much a little time and attention can mean to someone. Already volunteering at a local hospice, Hart saw Customer Service Week as an opportunity to become even more involved. He completed the necessary paperwork and background check just before the 2025 Service Week and began spending time directly with hospice patients.

Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote ... that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. ~ Samuel Adams