The Trump Administration has shown an interest in regulatory reform with the goal of reducing the burden on regulated parties such as hospices. This has recently come to the forefront as part of the administration’s efforts...more
COVID-19 has affected all aspects of hospice care, operations and personnel, including the person whose judgment is at the center of the Medicare hospice benefit: the hospice physician. From new regulations addressing...more
COVID-19 threw a wrench into certain hospice audit activity, but the machine rumbles on. In today’s podcast episode, Husch Blackwell's Meg Pekarske, Erin Burns and Bryan Nowicki discuss the current state of hospice audits,...more
Medical reviews to restart-
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) medical review activity suspended due to COVID-19 is set to restart on August 3, 2020, regardless of the public health emergency status....more
The 2019 Aseracare Court of Appeals decision was lauded by hospices as appropriate push-back to overly aggressive whistleblowers and government enforcers. Its central holding, that two physicians can reasonably disagree about...more
The 2019 Aseracare Court of Appeals decision was lauded by hospices as appropriate push-back to overly aggressive whistleblowers and government enforcers. Its central holding, that two physicians can reasonably disagree about...more
Many hospices understand the general framework established for use of relief payments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. However, questions remain about how to evaluate whether specific expenses and losses...more
On Friday, April 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began disbursing $30 billion in relief funds directly to Medicare providers, including hospices. The use of those funds, however, is subject to a number of...more
In today’s episode, Husch Blackwell's Hospice team shares insights on operationalizing recent government guidance for hospices facing coronavirus obstacles. We discuss the role of virtual visits, how to use telehealth and the...more
The Husch Blackwell Hospice Team has been receiving reports from hospices throughout the country that nursing facilities are prohibiting hospice workers from entering the facility to provide essential end-of-life care to...more
These are extraordinary times. COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, has disrupted the life of every American and every business. Hospices are no exception. In fact, they are on the frontlines, responsible for providing care to...more
In this episode, the hospice team shares insights on how to manage and succeed in responding to additional documentation requests (“ADR”) stemming from Targeted Probe and Educate (“TPEs”) projects. We discuss the unique...more