Literature Review

Compassus-Providence JV to move forward in Oregon Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/18/26 The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has cleared the way for a Compassus-Providence Health System joint venture to operate in the state. The home-based care provider Compassus has established a joint venture with the health system Providence in 2024 and expanded it last year. However, in Oregon the state agency must review all such transactions. ... The conditions are intended to ensure the proposed transaction serves the public interest by expanding access to home health and hospice services in medically underserved communities, according to OHA.

Ohio nurses help hospice patients navigate end-of-life decisions Public News Service; by Nadia Ramlagan; 5/15/26 On the heels of National Nurses Week, hospice nurses are raising awareness about access to compassionate end-of-life care and medical decisions in the Black community. ... Ottamissiah "Missy" Moore, a longtime hospice nurse and member of the African American Leadership Council for Compassion & Choices, said her personal experience relying on hospice care showed her how important it can be for families. ... A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association found around 34% of Black study participants died while using hospice services compared to more than 46% of their white counterparts. Moore added the disparity echoes other racial inequities in health care, such as nonwhite people being less likely to receive pain medications and higher rates of maternal mortality. 

Hospitality exec brings hotel playbook to senior living, hits 97% occupancy Pacific Business News, Hawaii; by Cathy Cruz-George; 5/14/26 Mark Tsuda had three decades of hospitality experience when he joined the opening team of Ilima at Leihano, a luxury senior living community in Kapolei, in 2016. He previously was a regional executive for Aston Hotels & Resorts, ... Ilima at Leihano - which provides independent living, assisted living and memory care - has held an occupancy rate of between 95% and 97% over the past six years, supported by 92 employees who balance hotel-style services with healthcare needs and recreation. ... If a resident is in hospice, they can stay with us. Hospice is outsourced to local providers like Malama Ola and Island Hospice, ...

Ohio taking new steps to target Medicaid fraud Spectrum News 1, Cleveland and Columbus, OH; by Aliah Keller; 5/14/26Ohio is taking new steps to crack down on Medicaid fraud, with a focus on home-healthcare and hospice providers.What You Need To Know

Week of Kindness: Beautifying Hospice of Lansing's courtyard Fox 47 News, Lansing, MI; by Larry Wallace; 5/15/26 ... Hospice of Lansing is one of the organizations taking part in this year's week of kindness. ... To celebrate, Hospice of Lansing volunteers beautified the facility's courtyard, planting flowers and cleaning windows. [From the reporter,] I got to take part in the effort, filling up bird feeders alongside volunteers — including Chad Beckett, who came out to give back to the facility that supported him and his mother. 

Enhabit completes previously announced acquisition by Kinderhook Industries to become a private company BusinessWire, Dallas and New York; Press Release; 5/15/26 Enhabit, Inc. (“Enhabit” or the “Company”), a leading home health and hospice care provider, and Kinderhook Industries, LLC (“Kinderhook”), a middle market private equity firm, today announced the successful completion of the previously announced transaction in which Enhabit was acquired by Kinderhook for $13.80 per share in cash. As a result of the transaction, Enhabit has become a private company. Its common stock will no longer be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange, effective immediately.

The National Law Review: CMS imposes nationwide enrollment moratoria on hospices and home health agencies - what buyers sellers and operators need to know The National Law Review; by Margia Corner, Ashley Wheelock, Tammy Ward Woffenden, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP; 5/14/26 ... [Assuming readers have background information] ... Critically for some pending or proposed transactions, both moratoria block re-enrollment of hospices or HHAs undergoing a non-exempt change in majority ownership (CIMO) within 36 months of initial enrollment or the most recent CIMO. Such transactions require the entity to enroll as a brand-new provider.... Both moratoria apply only to Medicare. However, CMS is encouraging states to consider parallel moratoria for Medicaid and CHIP, tailored to their beneficiary population and geographic considerations. CMS also noted that while some states previously enacted laws placing a moratorium on issuing new licenses in their state, those efforts cannot prevent new agencies or enrollments in other states and thus its nationwide moratoria are warranted.

Key impacts of the 2026 National AI Legislative Framework on HealthcareArnall Golden Gregory blog; by Charmaine Mech Aguirre; 4/22/26On March 20, 2026, the White House published the national AI legislative framework, outlining the administration’s preferred blueprint for federal AI legislation. One of the framework’s most consequential themes is its explicit rejection of the current and rapidly expanding “patchwork of conflicting state laws” governing AI as contrary to innovation. Instead, the framework calls for a consistent national policy. The framework adopts an innovation‑forward posture, though it contemplates baseline guardrails for certain higher‑risk AI endeavors. The framework focuses on seven core pillars... [click here for more] Key Takeaways:

Nursing home ratings and characteristics predict hospice use among decedents with serious illnessesJournal of the American Medical Directors Association; by Ellis C Dillon, Chae Man Lee, Wenqi Gan, Doreek Charles, Germine Soliman, Julie Robison; 4/26Approximately one-third of older Americans experience a nursing home (NH) stay within 3 months of death, but it is unclear how NH characteristics influence end-of-life care.  Short-term (vs long-term) NH stays were associated with increased odds of hospice use and short hospice use. Individuals with long-term stays had lower odds of hospice use with stays at NHs with the highest (vs lowest) CMS ratings for quality measures and staffing ... Those with short-term stays had lower odds of hospice use with stays at NHs with the highest CMS Health Inspection ratings. People with long-term stays at NHs that were part of a chain, had Alzheimer's care units, or had more beds had increased odds of hospice care. Conclusions and implications: Among Connecticut Medicaid-insured decedents with NH stays, people with long-term stays and stays in NHs with better CMS ratings had lower odds of hospice use. Assistant Editor's note: It is difficult to obtain national data for Medicaid hospice days. But according to Medicare claims data obtained from Hospice Analytics, 19% of hospice days in 2024 occurred in a nursing home setting. This summary article highlights an important issue and an excellent opportunity for future analysis with a broader study population. Intuitively, we'd like to see highly rated NHs have higher hospice utilization. 

New Feature for Hospice & Palliative Care Today Newsletter Subscribers!We're excited to announce that you can now choose exactly which days of the week you'd like to receive our email newsletters. Whether you're only interested in Saturday’s research roundup or Sunday’s top reads of the week, you can now customize your delivery schedule to fit your preferences. How to set your preferred days:

BREAKING NEWS: CMS announces aggressive nationwide crackdown on fraud with six-month hospice and home health agency enrollment moratoria CMS Newsroom; Press Release; 5/13/26 In coordination with Vice President JD Vance’s Anti-Fraud Task Force, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking decisive action to protect Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayer dollars through implementation of a six-month, nationwide data-driven moratoria on new Medicare enrollment for hospices and home health agencies (HHAs). The moratoria will allow CMS to temporarily halt the influx of new providers into these high-risk categories—a key source of fraudulent activity. Today’s move continues the Trump Administration’s crackdown on fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program by stopping improper billing and preventing bad actors from entering the system.

Revisiting stories about mothersHospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger, Editor in Chief; 5/6/26Some relationships nurture. Some ache. Most carry both. As we move into Mother’s Day weekend, we revisit memorable stories from our newsletter about mothers and the many relationships surrounding them. Some are rooted in unconditional love, some are fractured, and many live in the quiet nuances in between.May these stories serve as gentle catalysts for reflection on your own relationships with the women in your lives — mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, aunts, sisters, in-laws, “steps,” chosen family, and more.