Literature Review

Heart disease tops US mortality in 2024, CDC reports McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Foster Stubbs; 9/12/25 The leading causes of death in the United States in 2024 were heart disease, cancer and unintentional injury, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a September report. ... In total, there were 3,072,039 total deaths that occurred in the US in 2024 with a death rate of 722.0 per 100,000 people. This was 3.8% lower than the totals in 2023. Death rates also decreased for all race and ethnicity groups but rates for Black people remain higher than those for all other groups. Overall, death rates were highest for males, older adults and Black people, demonstrating a need for further examination of the health of these demographic groups. Heart disease caused 683,037 deaths, cancer caused 619,812 deaths and unintentional injury resulted in 196,488 deaths. Mortality statistics were collected by The National Center for Health Statistics’ (NCHS) National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) using US death certificate data. [The CDC Report is at Vital Statistics Rapid Release, Number 039, September 2025.]

What I learned about dying while caring for my husbandBK Books; by Barbara Karnes; 9/3/25It is hard to comprehend that our special person will die no matter what we do. No matter how many treatments, how much medicine, or how much food we give, death will come. We often don’t see what we don’t want to see. When it comes to acknowledging the end of life’s approach, this sentence is very true. My husband recently died of cancer. I am an end of life educator. I know what dying looks like, how it progresses, and what to do to support the person on their journey. Here are some insights that have been added to my knowledge as the result of walking in caregiver shoes...Publisher's note: Having a family member die earlier this year and building on Barbara's theme, I ask hospice providers, "Does the hospice care your loved one received match the quality of hospice care you deliver?"

Social Media Watch 9/12/25

New Salem-based hospice opens with focus on nursing staff wellness Salem Reporter, Salem, OR; by Hailey Cook; 9/11/25 After 12 years working as a hospice nurse, Christie Rivelli reached her breaking point. The pressure had built since the pandemic, when her workload went from 15 patients at a time to 28. ... By opening a new, locally-owned hospice company, they’re bucking a trend. ... Solterra currently has a staff of 19, with a range of one to three decades of experience in hospice care. As a nurse herself, Rivelli said she’s prioritized her staff’s workload and benefits. Everyone starts by getting training about post-traumatic stress disorder, and she said new hires have had trouble adjusting to a slower pace of work. ... Rivelli said. “Downtime in your workday should be built in … but boy, that’s not how it’s been in hospice.” She said some companies will assign 40 patients to one nurse, which forces the nurses to do pop-in check-ups rather than getting to know their patients. It can also mean the patient will see a rotation of unfamiliar faces rather than one nurse.

Fulfilling end-of-life dreams: A scoping review of bucket lists in palliative and hospice care Palliative Supportive Care - Cambridge University Press; by Swasati Handique, Michael Bennett and Scott D Ryan; 9/12/25 Results: Four major themes were established using thematic content analysis: (1) impact on holistic well-being, (2) role of family in wish fulfillment, (3) cultivation of gratitude, and (4) collaborative leadership in wish fulfillment. In wish fulfillment, the results significantly pointed to the need for more intricate evaluation among patients and interventions that cover beyond the physical aspect. Significance of results: Palliative and hospice care settings should work toward securing sustainable funding for structured wish-fulfillment programs to address existing accessibility gaps and further enhance the holistic nature of care in these settings. Editor's Note: For hospice organizations that can receive donations, setting up a Wish/Bucket List Fund makes for a meaningful, easy-to-demonstrate ROI on donated gifts. With this, you need to have some type of discretionary review/approval process in place, with assurances of confidentiality when important to the person and/or family.

Hospice AI - Summarize national and state hospice utilization trends over the past 10 yearsHospice & Palliative Care Today staff; 9/15/25Today we asked ChatGPT to summarize hospice utilization trends over the past decade using a spreadsheet uploaded from Hospice Analytics. One "key takeaway" was that growth is slowing nationally, suggesting hospice has matured in penetration, though opportunities remain in underutilizing states. Click here for the 4-page detailed summary, including AI-generated charts. Of note, while the AI-generated charts were correct, the accompanying text was incorrect - reinforcing the need for humans to double-check output!

Over 240 advocates rally in DC for the future of care at home: National Alliance for Care at Home hosts Inaugural Advocacy Week on Capitol Hill National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/12/25 More than 240 care at home care advocates from across the country met with over 275 congressional offices this week to discuss key legislative and regulatory priorities for expanding access to home-based care services. The meetings were part of the 2025 National Alliance for Care at Home’s inaugural Advocacy Week. Alliance Advocacy Week brings together leaders, advocates, and supporters to unite as one voice for care at home, driving positive legislative change and shaping the future of care to ensure broader access to the life-changing home care services for all Americans. 

How to move a parent with dementia against family resistance—and stay legal Advisorpedia; by Carolyn Rosenblatt; 9/3/25 The phone call came to Dad’s daughter (FD) at 6 AM. Again. This time, it was the night caregiver reporting that her father had fallen while trying to get out of bed. She had jumped up and tried to stop him but she could only get to him in time to break his fall. ... The caregiver was exasperated. She needed more help and SW did not provide it. It was the third incident in two weeks, and FD knew something had to change.

The hidden crisis in serious illness care and how we fix itMedCityNews; by Dr. Mihir Kamdar; 9/7/25 Every year, millions of Americans with serious illnesses find themselves caught in a dangerous limbo: not sick enough to qualify for hospice, but far too ill to be served by our traditional healthcare system. The result is care that’s expensive, fragmented, and often traumatic. These patients are shuffled between a revolving door of emergency rooms and ICUs, enduring a cascade of aggressive interventions that don’t match their goals or improve their quality of life. This approach not only undermines quality, it drives healthcare spending through the roof, particularly in the last year of life. This is the hidden crisis in serious illness care. And it’s getting worse. At the root of the problem is what many in the field call the “hospice cliff.” ...

Access to hospice and certain services under the hospice benefit for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease or cancerMedPAC report; by Kim Neuman, Grace Oh, Nancy Ray; 9/5/25Summary: MedPAC explores policy and payment options for higher cost services that may be covered under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, such as dialysis, radiation, blood transfusions, and chemotherapy. Advantages and disadvantages / complexities of potential policy directions are outlined, including enhanced data reporting, hospice payment policy changes, and a voluntary transitional program.

Bipartisan home health legislation introduced to protect Medicare beneficiaries and lower Medicare costs National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/4/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement today in response to the introduction of the Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representatives Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Terri Sewell (D-AL), would protect home health care by pausing the devastating payment cuts proposed in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) CY 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System proposed rule. 

68 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch and Kristin Kuchno; 8/29/25 A number of hospitals and health systems are reducing their workforces or jobs amid financial and operational challenges. [Listed] are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations announced in 2025.

CMS: Annual Change in Medicaid Hospice Payment Rates—ACTIONCMS, Department of Health and Human Services; email from Rory Howe, director; 9/5/25The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Medicaid hospice rates for FY 2026. They are slightly different than the Medicare rates and should be used when billing for Medicaid hospice patients. This memorandum contains the Medicaid hospice payment rates for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026. The rates reflect changes made under the final Medicare hospice rule published on August 1, 2025 (CMS-1835-F). Please inform your staff and all state agencies in your jurisdiction of these new payment rates, which are effective October 1, 2025. We expect state agencies to share the Medicaid hospice payment rates for FY 2026 with the hospice providers in their state.