Literature Review

With new facility, Mourning Dove Grief Care expands help for survivors of loss Oil City News, Casper, WY; by Dan Cepe; 7/16/25 Death can be natural, or it can be cruel and unexpected. It is, however, an inevitable part of the human experience that can affect survivors in countless ways possibly for the remainder of their lives. ... Mourning Dove Grief Care, a service by Central Wyoming Hospice & Transitions, aims to provide that help to members of the community.  ... The [new] facility will allow anyone in the community suffering from loss to walk in and schedule appointments or join a support group, whether they’ve gone through Hospice or not. The program itself started when Hospice noted the need for grief care in the community, particularly for people suffering from sudden losses. “Interestingly enough, we found that even therapists and counselors were referring to us when they had clients dealing with loss,” she said. 

Hosparus Health plans to create end-of-life care center Spectrum News 1, Louisville/Lexington, KY; by Destinee Flowers; 7/16/25 Plans for Louisville’s first inpatient, standalone hospice care center are underway, as a part of Hosparus Health’s ongoing efforts to provide comfortable end-of-life care for seniors and their loved ones. ...  Tawanda Owsley, Hosparus Health chief development and marketing officer [described], "We will have a 21-bed, 10,000-square-foot unit ... [and that] the new facility will replace a traditional hospital setting with a warmer one while still providing high-level clinical care. It will have private rooms to accommodate family members, bathrooms in each care room, a chapel, kitchen, children’s room and an outdoor garden area. “[Our] healing garden will be a pathway from our inpatient care center to our grief counseling center," she said. ... This end-of-life care center is the third project in Hosparus Health’s “Places of Compassion” initiative, an action to modernize hospice care in anticipation of the aging Baby Boomer population.

The Alliance’s CaringInfo Program launches new “Planning for In-Home Care” section National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/16/25 CaringInfo.org, a program of the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), is expanding its resources with a new website section – “Planning for In-Home Care” – as well as a brand refresh to align with its growing audience. CaringInfo provides free resources to educate and empower patients and caregivers to make informed decisions about home, serious illness, and end-of-life care and services. While CaringInfo began with a focus on serious illness and end-of-life care and support, the program’s content is expanding to provide information and resources on the full spectrum of home-based care services. ... Visit CaringInfo.org, which is free and available to all, to explore the full site as well as the new content.

Tracking the Medicare Provisions in the 2025 Reconciliation Bill | KFF KFF; updated 7/8/25 Similar to the chart for Medicaid provisions in the 2025 Reconciliation Bill, KFF also provides details on the changes for Medicare. Topics include eligibility policies, physician payment, prescription drugs, rules for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), nursing homes – including the prohibition of implementation, administration, or enforcement of the minimum staffing levels requirement until October 1, 2034, and funding for HHS to “contract with AI contractors and data scientists to identify and reduce Medicare improper payments and recoup overpayments.Guest Editor’s Note, Judi Lund Person: The chart of Medicare provisions confirms that implementation of the Medicare eligibility and enrollment final rule will be delayed until October 1, 2034, except for those provisions that have already taken effect. The Senate version enacted into law also has a temporary one-year increase of 2.5% in the Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor for all services furnished between January 1, 2026 and January 1, 2027 and a delay of the nursing home staffing final rule until October 1, 2034. It is helpful to have the chart in a usable form for reference on the final bill enacted into law.

KFF publishes summaries of Health Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation BillKFF; updated 7/8/25 On July 3, the House passed the same version of the budget reconciliation bill passed by the Senate on July 1. On July 4, President Trump signed the legislation into law . KFF published this summary to describe the health care provisions in the law (described as the Senate-passed bill) in four categories: Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). It also compares the provisions to a earlier draft of the bill passed by the House on May 22. Guest Editor’s Note, Judi Lund Person:  KFF was formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation but since KFF is not a foundation and has no connection to Kaiser Permanente, they are now called simply KFF. They state “As a one-of-a-kind information organization, we bring together substantial capabilities in policy research, polling, and journalism in one organization to meet the need for a trusted, independent source of information on national health issues—one with the scope and reach to be a counterweight to health care’s vested interests and a voice for people.”

HR1: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act - Provisions relevant to Medicaid HCBS providersNational Alliance for Care at Home; 7/7/25The Alliance has created a detailed summary for providers that deliver Medicaid-funded home and community-based services (HCBS) about provisions in the House Resolution 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the “Reconciliation” bill. View the Alliance's recent statement following House passage of the bill. President Trump signed the legislation on July 4, 2025, and therefore the provisions below will now become law.Publisher's note: Membership required to access full analysis. Also, direct hospice impact appears minimal; indirect hospice impact (e.g., hospice impact as a result of Medicaid nursing home impact) unclear.

Health care attorneys: Hospice investigations coming from all sides Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/8/25 Hospices are subject to a rising number of investigations and audits from Medicare contractors, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and, in some cases, the U.S. Justice Department, among others. Hospices need to understand the various types of investigations they may encounter and how to respond to them. Key factors are completely and accurately documenting the medical necessity of the care they receive. Hospice News sat down with Guillermo Beades and Todd Brower, partners with the law firm Frier Levitt to discuss the ins-and-outs of hospice investigations and how providers should respond.

Medicare Advantage plan disenrollment: Beneficiaries cite access, cost, and quality among reasons for leavingHealth Affairs; by Geoffrey J. Hoffman, Lianlian Lei, Ishrat Alam, Myra Kim, Lillian Min, Zhaohui Fan, Deborah Levine; 6/25Medicare Advantage (MA) is growing in popularity, but it is seeing substantial plan disenrollments among high-risk Medicare beneficiaries. Understanding and addressing factors associated with disenrollment are crucial for improving MA access and quality but are complicated by data issues, including the inability to adequately assess beneficiaries’ perceptions of access and quality in MA... Difficulty accessing needed medical care was more strongly associated with MA-to–traditional Medicare exits than MA-to-MA plan switching. Dissatisfaction with access, cost, and quality was much more common for enrollees in poor health. These findings renew concerns about access to high-quality care for high-risk and other MA enrollees.

Flooding in Texas: Updates and resourcesCompilation by Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Joy Berger; 7/6/25

Alliance Statement on House passage of Reconciliation Bill: Medicaid provisions threaten home and community-based services for millions of vulnerable Americans National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandira, VA and Washington DC; Press Release; 7/3/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement today in response to the House’s passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” also known as the Reconciliation bill, which now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature. “The Alliance is deeply troubled by the Medicaid provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has passed both chambers of Congress and now awaits President Trump’s signature,” said Alliance CEO Dr. Steve Landers. “These provisions—including work requirements, reduced provider taxes, and new cost-sharing mandates—prioritize short-sighted budget savings over the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens who rely on home and community-based services (HCBS).”

Children and their families: Grief and flood disaster news about campsCompilation by Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Joy Berger; 7/6/25Summer can be both a healing and vulnerable time for grieving children, especially those attending bereavement camps. The devastating flooding in Texas, resulting in the deaths and "still missing" searches for children, teens and adults has undoubtedly shaken us all. Imagine the possible fears of children who are headed off to "grief camp" this week or in the near future. This type of tragedy can retraumatize children already processing loss, and create new layers of important, sensitive support from parents and counselors. We share with you these resources:

CMS Age-Friendly Measure: Overview for hospitals and health systems Institute for Healthcare Improvement; retrieved from the internet 7/2/25 Starting with the 2025 reporting period, hospitals will attest to providing age-friendly care through a new measure introduced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS Age Friendly Hospital Measure advances the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement’s vision to ensure that all older adults receive age-friendly care that is evidence-based and aligns with what matters most to the older adult and their family caregivers. To date, nearly 5,000 sites of care have been recognized as Age-Friendly Health Systems — Participants and celebrated by IHI and The John A. Hartford Foundation. The measure has five domains that cover all four elements of age-friendly care, known as the 4Ms: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.

New Day Healthcare acquires Dunes HospiceHospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/25/25The home health and hospice company New Day Healthcare has acquired Dunes Hospice in Indiana for an undisclosed amount. The deal marks New Day’s 16th acquisition to date, as well as its first entry into the Indiana market. The company plans to build density in that state by adding personal care services and skilled home health services to those markets. New Day now serves patients in six states... Just last week, Texas-based New Day inked an agreement to acquire New Mexico-based Heritage Home Healthcare LLC.