Five 'New Norms' in Hospice Care
Healthcare attorney Jennifer Rangel was featured in Hospice News discussing findings from Holland & Knight's recently published Healthcare Trend Report: Home Health and Hospice. The report examines how regulatory developments, reimbursement changes, litigation trends and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity are reshaping the home health and hospice industries.
Expanding on the report's analysis, Jennifer explained that rising demand, workforce constraints and increased Medicare Advantage enrollment are prompting hospice providers to pursue value-based arrangements, expand into palliative care and use technology to demonstrate stronger cost and quality outcomes. She also addressed the ramp-up of Medicare auditing and enforcement, including regulators' use of data analytics and mandatory site visits to identify potential fraud, waste and abuse. These measures can expose hospice and home health providers to payment suspensions, post-payment recoveries and Medicare reenrollment restrictions, underscoring the importance of robust compliance programs, regular staff training and thorough documentation.
"The key point for legitimate providers is that the government's 'wide net' catches compliant companies too," Jennifer warned. "It is vital to implement and maintain a strong compliance program, continuously train staff on compliance-related matters as they arise and focus on maintaining strong documentation to support the services being provided.