Literature Review

Telehealth bill for Medicare approved by House Panel Retirement Daily; by Retirement Daily; 9/21/24 House Ways and Means Committee on Sept. 18, 2024, passed the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act by a vote of 41-0 after lawmakers raised concerns about the need for more guardrails and hospice recertification. The move sets up the legislation for passage by the full House later this year. The markup included objections by Democrats and Republicans to the high cost durable medical equipment and clinical diagnostics guardrails proposed in the bill, saying the provisions merely restate existing authorities of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The bill requires reports on DME and clinical diagnostics fraud which some lawmakers think have already been established and don’t need further study. Many lawmakers likewise expressed concern about the extension of hospice recertification via telehealth. Some lawmakers raised concern about fraud in the hospice program, which they say the telehealth requirement could let fester.

Why hospital-at-home, other providers are pressing worker safety Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 9/24/24 At-home care providers are testing strategies to better protect workers who are raising the alarm on workplace safety. A new survey of more than 400 home healthcare workers found more than half said they experienced or witnessed at least one act of violence or harassment in the workplace, according to Transcend Strategy Group, which conducted the poll on behalf of home care providers. The report, which echoes similar findings from a National Nurses United survey, comes as hospital-at-home programs expand and more care moves to where patients live. ... Home-based care providers are trying to address the issue because concerns about personal safety could make it harder to recruit and retain workers in a competitive job market. The concerns are also coming up in contract negotiations between unions and providers.

That message from your doctor? It may have been drafted by A.I. DNYUZ; 9/24/24 Every day, patients send hundreds of thousands of messages to their doctors through MyChart, a communications platform that is nearly ubiquitous in U.S. hospitals. They describe their pain and divulge their symptoms — the texture of their rashes, the color of their stool — trusting the doctor on the other end to advise them. But increasingly, the responses to those messages are not written by the doctor — at least, not entirely. About 15,000 doctors and assistants at more than 150 health systems are using a new artificial intelligence feature in MyChart to draft replies to such messages. Many patients receiving those replies have no idea that they were written with the help of artificial intelligence. In interviews, officials at several health systems using MyChart’s tool acknowledged that they do not disclose that the messages contain A.I.-generated content. The trend troubles some experts who worry that doctors may not be vigilant enough to catch potentially dangerous errors in medically significant messages drafted by A.I. 

UnitedHealth Group's Optum to lay off 160 employees Modern Healthcare; by Hayley Desilva; 9/19/24 UnitedHealth Group's Optum filed plans to lay off 160 employees at one of its locations in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The majority of the cuts will occur on Dec. 11, with a single worker laid off Jan. 22, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed with the state of New Jersey this month. ... The provider, pharmacy and technology services business said in the filing the planned layoffs are due to a need for "alignment of capabilities and services to meet the evolving needs of our business and those we serve." The employees will be eligible for severance pay and continue to receive their regular wages until their termination date.

Top 5 regrets people have on their deathbeds: What they can teach us about living healthy, fulfilled lives, from an internal medicine doctor NBC-6 South Florida; by Alex Koller, CNBC; 9/23/24 To live a meaningful, fulfilling life, you have to accept that it'll eventually come to an end, says Shoshana Ungerleider. Over the years of caring for ill hospital patients, Ungerleider — a doctor who specializes in internal medicine — has observed regrets among people near the end of their lives, she tells CNBC Make It. Here are five regrets she says people often express:

Financial pressures shut down 2 hospice agencies Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/20/24 A hospital-based hospice program in Kansas is closing its doors, as is the Visiting Nurses Association of Philadelphia. Holton Community Hospital (HCH) will shut down its home health and hospice department effective December 31st. A range of issues contributed to the decision to end the program, including reimbursement pressures on its home health business and the ascendance of Medicare Advantage, which often pays at a lower rate than traditional Medicare. The Holton, Kansas-based hospital also cited increased competition in its local community as a reason for the closure. ... The organization is working with other local providers to ensure continuity of care for its home health and hospice patients. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, the Visiting Nurses Association of Philadelphia is also closing. The 138-year-old institution will cease operations on Oct. 28. It is a provider of hospice, home health and palliative care services.Editor's note: For more information about the VNA in Philadelphia, see the article we posted on 9/18/24, After 138 years, the Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia will shut down all health care services next month.

Companies committed to DEI but may talk about it differently: surveyMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 9/19/24Social impact is a growing corporate strategy, even if it isn’t talked about, according to the results of a survey by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals and YourCause from Blackbaud. “The 2024 results show how the current landscape of corporate social impact is both dynamic and demanding, reflecting a field that is a priority to key stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors and community,” according to ACCP, which surveyed 125 companies in April. Ninety-six percent of the companies reported a continued commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives... DEI has become a polarizing political issue this year, according to ACCP. That doesn’t mean that companies are backing away from their commitments, but they may be changing the way they talk about DEI.Publisher's note: The Louisiana ~ Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, a Hospice & Palliative Care Today sponsor, has a Health Disparities and Inequities Taskforce that has completed, among several other things, a Standards of Excellence certification process around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

CarePoint Health submits plans for layoffsModern Healthcare; by Hayley DeSilva; 9/18/24CarePoint Health submitted plans with New Jersey authorities to lay off more than 2,600 workers at three of its hospitals in the state. The layoffs would take effect Dec. 12, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice filed with the state.

CVS' Oak Street Health pays $60M to settle kickback allegationsModern Healthcare; by Katherine Davis; 9/18/24Chicago-based healthcare firm Oak Street Health has agreed to pay $60 million to resolve allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice that it paid kickbacks to third-party insurance agents in exchange for recruiting seniors to Oak Street’s primary care clinics. The DOJ alleged in a statement today that Oak Street’s Client Awareness Program, designed to grow patient membership, had third-party insurance agents contacting seniors eligible for or enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, seeking to recruit them to Oak Street locations.

New revised Medicaid Fraud Control Unit performance standardsOIG press release on X; 9/19/24HHS-OIG published revised Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) performance standards. The standards provide helpful guidance to MFCUs in their operations and assist HHS-OIG in overseeing MFCUs. Read the performance standards here: https://direc.to/fj2o. 

Fraud losses among older adults reached $3.4 billion last yearMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 9/20/24The types of scams being reported to the federal government haven’t changed much from last year, but losses are on the rise, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting $10 billion in losses to consumers in 2023, $1 billion more than 2022 losses and the highest losses ever reported, according to a new fraud book. During a Thursday hearing on fighting fraud held by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, US Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), committee chairman, released the group’s ninth annual fraud book, “Fighting Fraud: Scams to Watch Out For,” capturing the most common scams targeting older adults and resources to protect against fraud reported to various sources. FBI data show that fraud losses among older adults reached $3.4 billion in 2023, Casey said.

From pigs to payouts, weighing solutions for the US kidney shortageHealthcare Brew; by Caroline Catherman; 9/18/24About one out of every 20 people waiting for a kidney transplant die each year, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Scientists, policymakers, and other experts are scrambling to find a solution. Kidneys are currently the most needed organ in the country, and an ongoing crisis has left tens of thousands in limbo. As of September, nearly 90,000 people in the US are waiting for kidneys, but only around 27,000 transplants were performed in 2024, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).Publisher's note: Hospice Analytics, a Hospice & Palliative Care Today sponsor, posted this blog and has given presentations on opportunities and challenges for hospices to honor patient wishes regarding organ and tissue donation.

Mercy Health Home Care and Hospice by Compassus to provide care in Greater Lima Area HometownStations.com - ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, Lima, OH; by Mercy Health - St. Rita's; 9/23/24 The Mercy Health Home Care and Hospice programs serving the greater Lima, Ohio, area, announced a new name today: Mercy Health Home Care and Hospice by Compassus. The name change reflects a joint venture partnership between Bon Secours Mercy Health, the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the U.S., and Compassus, a leading national provider of integrated home-based health care services, finalized earlier this year. Locations in Lima formerly managed by Mercy Health will be rebranded under the joint venture and managed by Compassus.