Literature Review

CMS will not resume implementation of Hospice SFP in 2025 Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 3/25/25 A federal court has ordered a stay on litigation intended to block the hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) after the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pledged that it would not resume implementation during 2025. The crux of a lawsuit filed by hospice organizations against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the criteria that the agency uses to select hospices for the new Special Focus Program (SFP). [Continue reading ...]

Pope Francis was so close to death that doctors considered ending treatment Reuters, Vatican City; by Joshua McElwee; 3/25/25 Pope Francis came so close to death at one point during his 38-day fight in hospital against pneumonia that his doctors considered ending treatment so he could die in peace, the head of the pope's medical team said. After a breathing crisis on February 28 ... "there was a real risk he might not make it," said Sergio Alfieri, a physician at Rome's Gemelli hospital. "We had to choose if we would stop there and let him go, or to go forward and push it with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the highest risk of damaging his other organs," Alfieri told Italy's Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday [3/25]. "In the end, we took this path," he said. [Continue reading ...]

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission [MedPAC] releases report to Congress on Medicare Payment Policy Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Washington, DC; News Release, contact Stephanie Cameron; 3/13/25Today [3/13/25], the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) releases its March 2025 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report presents MedPAC’s recommendations for updating provider payment rates in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare for 2026, providing additional resources to acute care hospitals and clinicians who furnish care to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes, and eliminating certain Medicare coverage limits on stays in freestanding inpatient psychiatric facilities. The report reviews the status of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), the Medicare Advantage (MA) program (Medicare Part C), and the Part D prescription drug program (Medicare Part D). ... Fee-for-service payment rate update recommendations. ... MedPAC recommends ... payment reductions relative to current law for hospice providers, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.  [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Hospice of Redmond presents a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day CeremonyCascade Business News; by CBN; 3/18/25... Did you or someone you know serve in the military between 1955 and 1975? Hospice of Redmond would like to thank you for your service. This year marks the 50th anniversary for the end of the Vietnam War. The Scottish American Military Society will present veterans and their spouses with a Vietnam Lapel pin which was established in 2011 by Congress and administered by the DOD. Editor's note: Click here for more about this 50th Anniversary, National Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2025

Less wealth at death linked to more end-of-life symptoms McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kristen Fischer; 3/10/25 Older people with less wealth showed a higher burden of symptoms when they approached the end of their lives compared with those who had more wealth, a study found. The report was published in JAMA Network Open on March 6. Investigators looked at data from 8,976 older adults. The team evaluated 12 end-of-life symptoms including difficulty breathing, frequent vomiting, low appetite, difficulty controlling arms and legs, depression, and severe fatigue or exhaustion.Then they correlated symptoms to individuals’ wealth. Wealth was broken into three categories: low wealth was having less than $6,000; medium wealth was having between $6,000 and $120,000; and high wealth was considered having more than $120,000 at the time of death. Of respondents, 22.5% had low wealth, 50.5% had medium wealth and 27.1% had higher wealth. People who had less wealth were more likely to have a higher burden of symptoms compared to those who had more money. Functional impairment, multimorbidity and dementia were factors that affected the association, data revealed.Editor's note: Click here for this important JAMA article, posted in our Saturday Research issue 3/15/25, "Wealth disparities in end-of-life symptom burden among older adults."

End-of-life conversations: ‘When they open the door, you have to go in’ Oncology Nursing News; video by Pattie Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN; 3/13/25Oncology nurses have a unique relationship with patients that allows for difficult but essential end-of-life conversations, says expert Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN. Jakel, one of the editors in chief of Oncology Nursing News, emphasized that following up with patients and ascertaining what answers and support they need comes with the close bonds that oncology nurses form with patients with cancer. ... [Jakel describes:] We play a really important role. And sometimes patients ask us difficult questions, and we have to be prepared for it. I remember a lovely young patient I had, she had 2 little girls, and she was very sick. And things weren’t going well for her in the hospital, and she just—she looked up at me and she said, "Am I dying today?" And I thought, "She’s opening the door. She needs to have this conversation.” [Click here to hear this nurse describe the gentle interaction that unfolded.]Editor's note: Share this significant, sensitive video/article from Oncology Nursing News with your nurses. What communication education and support do you provide for your nurses? Explore this similar article from Oncology Nursing News, "APPs, Oncologists Work Together for End-of-Life Discussions," 11/2/24.

U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Hearing Health Subcommittee  “After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care” U.S. House of Representatives Documents (Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.); by Jonathan D. Fleece, President & CEO Empath Health; 3/11/25 Chairman Buchanan, Ranking Member Doggett, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. ... As President and CEO of Empath Health, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit home-based care organizations, it is an honor and privilege to serve one in five Floridians who need hospice care. ... My commitment to this mission is deeply personal. After losing my first daughter at birth, I dedicated my life’s work to ensuring that no family faces serious illness or loss without the support, dignity, and compassion they deserve. That experience shaped my belief that health care must do more than treat symptoms—it must care for the whole person and those who love them. ... Today, as the leader of Empath Health, I remain committed to advancing that vision—ensuring that patients and families have access to the right care, at the right time, in the place they call home. That is the foundation to my testimony: to speak for the millions of Americans who rely on home-based care and the policies that make it possible. ...

MedPAC 2025 Annual Report ReleasedMedPAC Report; 3/15/25 - sent 3/18/25 @ 3:00 PM ETFor fiscal year 2026, the Congress should eliminate the update to the 2025 Medicare base payment rates for hospice. In 2023, more than 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries (including more than half of decedents) received hospice services from about 6,500 providers, and Medicare hospice expenditures totaled $25.7 billion. [Click the title's link to download and read MedPAC's most recent Report to Congress - Hospice chapter.]

The biggest lessons of the last 12 months, according to 36 C-suite execs Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Muhammad; 3/19/25 Becker’s asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their biggest lesson from the past year. Question: What is the biggest lesson you learned in the last year, and why?

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission [MedPAC] releases report to Congress on Medicare Payment Policy 2025 report on Medicare payment policy Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Washington, DC; News Release, contact Stephanie Cameron; 3/13/25Today [3/13/25], the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) eleases its March 2025 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report presents MedPAC’s recommendations for updating provider payment rates in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare for 2026, providing additional resources to acute care hospitals and clinicians who furnish care to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes, and eliminating certain Medicare coverage limits on stays in freestanding inpatient psychiatric facilities. The report reviews the status of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), the Medicare Advantage (MA) program (Medicare Part C), and the Part D prescription drug program (Medicare Part D). ... Fee-for-service payment rate update recommendations. ... MedPAC recommends ... payment reductions relative to current law for hospice providers, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.  [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Hearing Health Subcommittee  “After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care” U.S. House of Representatives Documents (Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.); by Jonathan D. Fleece, President & CEO Empath Health; 3/11/25 Chairman Buchanan, Ranking Member Doggett, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. ... As President and CEO of Empath Health, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit home-based care organizations, it is an honor and privilege to serve one in five Floridians who need hospice care. ... My commitment to this mission is deeply personal. After losing my first daughter at birth, I dedicated my life’s work to ensuring that no family faces serious illness or loss without the support, dignity, and compassion they deserve. That experience shaped my belief that health care must do more than treat symptoms—it must care for the whole person and those who love them. ... Today, as the leader of Empath Health, I remain committed to advancing that vision—ensuring that patients and families have access to the right care, at the right time, in the place they call home. That is the foundation to my testimony: to speak for the millions of Americans who rely on home-based care and the policies that make it possible. ...

‘Innovative opportunities’ exist in growing need for trauma-informed bereavement care Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 3/11/25 Hospices may be seeing a growing need for trauma-informed bereavement services on the horizon. Shaping their grief support programs with this trend in mind will be pivotal to hospices’ ability to expand the depth and reach of their services. This is according to Chloe Bishop, bereavement and social work supervisor at Maryland-based Frederick Health Hospice. The community-based nonprofit provides hospice and palliative care, as well as grief support and veterans programs.Editor's note: For expert, professional continuing education, certifications, conferences, resources, and certifications that encompass the wide scope of bereavement care (including trauma), examine ADEC - the international Association for Death Education and Counseling.

How Houston Methodist’s ACO reduced its end-of-life spending by nearly 20% MedCity News - Hospitals; by Katie Adams; March 10, 2025 Houston Methodist Coordinate Care is reducing costs through a partnership with Koda Health, a digital platform that guides patients through their end-of-life choices. Preliminary findings show the technology resulted in a 19% reduction in the total cost of care for patients at the end of their life, which equals nearly $9,000 in savings per patient. ... The ACO has been working with Koda Health for more than three years — and it is saving money by getting patients more involved in their end-of-life care plan.