Literature Review

Five hundred, twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes ... ~ Jonathan Larson

DOJ launches first fast-track whistleblower rewards for tips leading to criminal fraud charges Mondaq | Legal 500 | Intelligence; by Meredith Auten, William Brady, Jack Shean, and Jessica R. Sievert; 10/23/26 The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a groundbreaking whistleblower rewards program that pays upfront awards when criminal charges are filed, rather than waiting years for case resolution. This new initiative targets healthcare fraud and government program fraud, with particular focus on hospice, home health, daycare and special services sectors. Companies should understand how this accelerated timeline affects their compliance strategies and internal reporting systems.

ChristianaCare palliative care founder blasts outsourcingDelawareOnline; by Sophia Voight; 10/23/26 ChristianaCare is discontinuing its in-house palliative care services, choosing to outsource the services to its hospice partner AccentCare. "We want to be clear that ChristianaCare is not stepping away from palliative care," ChristianaCare’s Chief Physician Executive Kert Anzilotti said in a statement to Delaware Online/The News Journal. "The delivery model is changing, but palliative care will continue to be an important part of our approach to high-quality, patient-centered care." But the retired physician who founded ChristianaCare’s palliative care services warns that outsourcing them could hurt patients and diminish the quality of care.

CMS eyes reducing UPI contractors' role in bid to directly target Medicare fraud inside health policy InsideHealthPolicy; by Dorothy Mills-Gregg; 10/21/26 CMS is considering reducing the traditional role of Unified Program Integrity Contractors so it can take direct control over which providers and suppliers become targets of Medicare fraud investigations -- a move that McDermott Will & Schulte is flagging to providers and investors as potentially “one of the most significant changes to Medicare fraud enforcement in years.” The possible shift, laid out in an Oct. 5 CMS request for information on fraud defense, would reduce the traditional role of UPICs and instead have them primarily conduct CMS-directed investigations and help build administrative and enforcement cases. [Full access may be limited to a subscription]

The Washington Home invests $328K to reduce barriers to hospice care access for older adults across Washington, DC NewsNet, Washington, DC; by EIN Presswire; 10/22/26 The Washington Home (TWH) has launched its Hospice Access Collaboration, a new grant initiative designed to address barriers that prevent vulnerable DC residents from accessing hospice and other end-of-life support. Through a $327,814 investment in four partner organizations: Capital Caring Health – A Chapters Health® Affiliate, Forest Hills of DC – By Goodwin Living, Joseph’s House, and Sibley Memorial Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine, the collaboration will expand hospice-related care for 25 older DC residents and train 200 healthcare professionals in four key areas:

Best case/worst case: A multisite randomized trial of scenario planning for patients with late-stage kidney diseaseJournal of American Geriatrics Society; by Lily N. Stalter, Bret M. Hanlon, Kyle J. Bushaw, Jenna Nitkowski, Anne Buffington, Katharine L. Cheung, Amy B. Zelenski, Kristine Kwekkeboom, Amar D. Bansal, Deidra Candice Crews, Holly M. Koncicki, Daniel Lam, Alvin H. Moss, Maya K. Rao, Dawn Felicity Wolfgram, Jeniann Yi, Carrie Brill, Tamara Isakova, Margaret L. Schwarze; 9/26Best Case/Worst Case (BC/WC) is a communication tool to support nephrologists and older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease with decisions about dialysis. We compared the effectiveness of training nephrologists to use BC/WC versus usual care on receipt of palliative care, quality of life (QOL), quality of communication, dialysis initiation, and death. While we hypothesized that improving prognostic awareness and communication would increase palliative care utilization, the challenges of connecting patients with life-limiting kidney disease to palliative care are multifaceted, well documented, and likely not surmountable with a communication intervention alone. Conclusion: Training nephrologists to use the BC/WC communication tool does not significantly affect receipt of palliative care or other measurable clinical outcomes.

HopeWest Gala raises funds for Delta County families experiencing aging, serious illness, and griefDelta County Independent [CO]; by HopeWest; 10/13/26This year’s HopeWest Gala, themed “A Night of Romantic Renaissance,” transformed the Bill Heddles Recreation Center on Sept. 19 into a world of fiery dragons and faraway castles. The sold-out event raised more than $77,000 to support HopeWest programs and services throughout Delta County. 323 guests gathered in support of the HopeWest mission to profoundly change the way the community experiences aging, serious illness and grief, one family at a time.

Husband donates seven figures to build Newport News hospice home in honor of late wife 13 News - ABC, Newport News, VA; by Germyah Batey; 10/20/26 A seven-figure donation to the Riverside Foundation will help bring a new hospice home to Newport News, inspired by one husband’s experience caring for his wife, who died from Alzheimer’s disease earlier this year. James Thorton is making the gift in honor of his wife, Donna, his high school sweetheart and wife of 56 years. ... Thorton became Donna’s full-time caregiver, helping manage her daily needs, medications, and comfort. “There are parts of dementia which I could manage and control,” he said. “I could make sure she’s fed, make sure that she got her meds on time, make sure she was comfortable.” Riverside’s palliative care team eventually stepped in to help care for Donna at home. Thorton said the team was pleasant and understanding, an experience that inspired him to help other families facing similar challenges.

Q2 earnings highs and lows: Chemed (NYSE:CHE)vs the rest of the senior health, home health & hospice stocks FinancialContent; by StockStory; 10/20/26 Looking back on senior health, home health & hospice stocks’ Q2 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Chemed (NYSE: CHE) and its peers. ...

Lobbying update: $1,520,000 of Humana Inc lobbying was just disclosed Quiver Quantitative; by Quiver Lobbying Radar; 10/20/26 $1,520,000 of HUMANA INC lobbying was just disclosed, from Q3 of 2026, in a new Lobbying Disclosure Act filing. This included lobbying on issues like: "Medicare Advantage (MA) Policy and Reimbursement Medicare Part D Issues Medicaid Policy Issues Including Dual Eligibles Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) and Pharmacy Policy and Reimbursement Issues Home Health Policy and Reimbursement Issues Implementation of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Public Law No. 117-169 H.R. 3514/S.1816, Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 (119th Congress) Prior Authorization Policy and Regulatory Issues CMS-4185-F2 Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment Data Validation Final Rule Primary Care and Value-Based Care Policy and Reimbursement Clinical Policy Issues Including Workforce and Mental Health Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS): ... [the list continues]

Announcing JAMA AI - A new journal from the JAMA NetworkJAMA Network; by Roy H. Perlis, Annette Flanagin, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo; 10/15/26We are pleased to announce that JAMA AI, the 14th journal in the JAMA Network, will launch in early 2027. JAMA AI will address the full spectrum of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, from foundational advances to real-world clinical implications. We will strive to publish clinical research that involves not only AI, but the full range of computational tools as they are applied to improve human health. Beyond AI, the journal will publish impactful studies that incorporate mobile apps, wearable sensors, physiologic monitors, digital imaging and pathology, virtual reality, and all the analytic and implementation methods necessary to apply these technologies in medicine and health care. We will also publish studies that capture the effects of technology on health more broadly, including AI and social media.

Distress screening and pediatric palliative care referral: A retrospective case-control study in supportive cancer care deliveryJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Jonathan Ebelhar, Katherine Yeager, Jordan Gilleland-Marchak, Dio Kavalieratos, Zhulin He, Rebecca Williamson Lewis, Katharine E Brock; 9/26Pediatric palliative care (PPC) reduces distressing symptoms and improves quality of life for children with cancer and their caregivers. This study assesses whether patient and caregiver distress is associated with PPC referral. Conclusion: Patients reporting high distress had higher odds of PPC referral. Caregiver DT [distress thermometer] scores were not associated with PPC referral. High patient distress scores could serve as a screening criterion for PPC referral.